Omen of Uncertainty Part I - Original World arc
by Epsilon Tarantula
Summary: Zarc's rampage throughout the Original Dimension was a horror to behold...but Leo Akaba's account of it was rather vague...The events that led to the destruction of the Original Dimension were more complex than he let on...as was the future that loomed over reality.
1. Prelude

**Welp, here we go.**

 **Welcome ladies and gentleman, to the official start to the prequel of _Yu-Gi-Oh! Dyax,_ an upcoming original work that I have had in my head for sometime. I'm not going to lie, I'm finding Arc-V's ending to be utter garbage. No sugar-coating, it's just garbage. Crap. And a series of expletives that I won't say to spare my more sensitive readers.**

 **Those who read A Doktor's Test, I'm warning you now, several ideas at the time of the fic's creation were not finalized. While the general events that happened in that story will occur at an equivalent point here, several things (Like the flashback epilogue), will be changed.**

 **So how will this story go you may ask? Simple, I'm expanding the last days of the Original Dimension to start with, introducing characters and scenarios that will be of more importance later in this story. After that, I'm adapting the climax of Arc-V, and then, we'll be moving on to...different arcs, for lack of a better term.**

 **So, without further ado, let the Road to Dyax commence!**

 **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, those rights go to Konami and Nihon Ad Systems.**

* * *

" _The creation of Supreme King Dragon Zarc was an utter nightmare…Normal weapons could not hope to touch him…the only thing that could fight him was a duelist. The military collaborated with whatever duelists they could find on short notice. But, it was a failure. None of them were strong enough to fight him…"_

Fire had consumed Crescent City. Once the center of the creation of the newest upgrade to the card battle game known as _Duel Monsters_ , the once-thriving metropolis had been reduced to rubble, ironically enough, by that very same upgrade.

The enormous purple, green, and golden dragon, with long spiky wings and appendages emerging from its body, _Supreme King Dragon Zarc,_ had once been a normal human. A human named Zarc who owned what were reputed to be the strongest dragons of the summoning techniques. Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, as well as a main deck representative, this duelist rose to the top of the dueling world after a year of intense battles.

That year had been the year that the Real Solid Vision System, after several secretive dry and trial runs, was fully implemented into the Dueling Networks, the systems that supported the programs and functions of Duel Disks worldwide. Of course, unlike regular or AR Solid Vision, which could be used anywhere, Real Solid Vision was restricted to stadiums and dueling arenas, so any attempts to access it outside of these areas were met with failure.

The Global Dueling Circuit was a world-wide event, with the purpose of serving as the event that would put Real Solid Vision on the map. Duelists from whatever country could afford the upgrade to their tournament stadiums engaged in white-hot battles that proved to be far more interactive and engaging than anything that had been created before. Even the previous innovations to the game got in on it. Riding Duels, already a popular event, became even more so once the Real Solid Vision System was applied to it. There were also talks with the creator of the Real Solid Vision System from Heartland, the city that had introduced AR Solid Vision, of potentially combining the two technologies together once the Circuit had run its course.

But halfway into the Circuit's run, trouble had started. Injuries were being reported during certain duels. These weren't uncommon in the past. Jack Atlas and many other Riding Duelists, for instance, had suffered multiple injuries throughout their careers, and AR duels were criticized for their potential distractions, as there had been cases of duelists not watching where they were going and either falling off a tall edge, or running into the streets with gruesome results.

In the past, such events had been dealt with swiftly, with new safety measures being implemented to decrease the occurrence of accidents such as these.

But, when the first injury was caused in Crescent City, the public response was…different. Very different. A duelist had suffered a shoulder injury from shrapnel in one of his duels, an accident that, in normal circumstances, would have proved that there were bugs in the system that needed to be ironed out.

But then, a group of rowdy, and rather shady men, the kind who would go into a bar, and get drunk, or enter a strip club and whistle as they ogled the women, began whooping and cheering. It proved to be infectious, and slowly, more and more people began to praise the duelist who had caused the accident. Said duelist had been considered a rising star to begin with, and this ended up being the clinch to his newfound fame.

Of course, there was still backlash. Several people criticized just how risky the Real Solid Vision was, pointing out its dangers to duelists and bystanders if the proper safety measures were not put into place.

Unfortunately, the companies and sponsors for the system at the time held the same mindset as Ford did when they created the Pinto. It would be cheaper not to implement a precautionary safety feature, especially with how complex the technology was.

The naysayers soon fell into the minority as dueling became less of a sport and more like the Roman Gladiator Games. Violent duels started becoming the norm, and even worse, the general public was starting to get into it. A wave of bloodlust seemed to grip the world concerning Duel Monsters. People wanted to be more like the duelists on T.V. and the Internet. In particular, they wanted to be like, _him._

They idolized the duelist who had set this chain of destruction into motion, whose personal duels remained the most violent of all. When interviewed, he said:

" _I give the people what they want. They want violence, so I give them as much as I'm able to, if not beyond that, to go beyond their expectations."_

Suffice to say, several veteran duelists of previous Dueling leagues retired in disgust, finding the new atmosphere to be abhorrent. Thomas Arclight, one of the most famed duelists around, had this to say about the duelists of the present-day.

" _I've always been one to give fan-service. I've always been one to please the crowds…But, after certain experiences in my life, I've learned the difference between simply pleasing the crowd and engaging in harm…After seeing how today's duels have been going, I'm asking duelists all over the world, PLEASE don't do this. You're causing more harm than good. Literally. Innocent people are being injured all for the sake of enjoyment. It. Isn't. Worth it."_

Suffice to say, Thomas Arclight's popularity plummeted severely.

At the end of the Global Dueling Circuit, it could easily be said to have been a success. Real Solid Vision was praised as one of the greatest technological achievements in existence, and a breakthrough for Hard Light Technology in general. The Pro-dueling leagues were more popular than ever, if not for the most moral of reasons, and at the center of all of that was the creator of the Real Solid Vision system, Leo Akaba, and the champion who had popularized it, Zarc.

The very same Zarc who was now laying waste to Crescent City, and threatening to destroy everything.

What had happened? What had gone so wrong?

To answer that question...let us turn back the clock, and watch how this horrible omen engulfed the world.

* * *

 **The prologue I'm afraid, is mainly exposition. We'll get a lot more detail and scenes in the next chapter.**

 **I'm juggling _Garage Kids_ and College work however, so an update will take a while I'm afraid!**

 **-Epsilon Tarantula-**


	2. The Duelists of Crescent City

**It's done! FINALLY DONE! WOOO-HOO!**

 **Ahem...**

 **Greeting ladies and gentleman! You may have wondered where I've been...**

 ***Cue tumbleweed***

 **But after an arduous semester of college dealing with a change to my major, a maverick of a Calculus Teacher, Seaworld, and a large amount of screaming, I have finally written up the first official, true chapter, of Omen of Uncertainty! HOORAY!**

 **It now begins, the Road to devastation as we delve into the story of the original dimension...what tales are waiting to be told in this setting? Well dear reader...let's begin.**

 **I don't own Yugioh ARC-V, if I did, then I wouldn't have had to write this story! Fan-Made cards are bolded, modified Anime/Manga cards are in italics, and already-existing cards are in the normal format! Disclaimer is on the first chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Omen of Uncertainty_

Act I – Scene 1: The Duelists of Crescent City

The year 2054. One would think that by that year, humanity would've reached a glorious pinnacle of technological and societal revolution, and indeed, there was evidence for such advancement. Cities more glorious than any other were being built all over the world, technology that could've come out of a Science Fiction story was finally being realized, and advances in medicine that could help anyone, anywhere, at any time, had finally been released to the general public.

But, in favor of a rebuttal to societal advancement, the fact remained that old habits still died hard, and some people still woke up to an alarm clock, as a certain person in the metropolis known as Crescent City was doing right…

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Now.

"Ugh..." A voice groaned from under the covers, hand shooting from the bed and slamming the alarm clock off.

Slowly but surely, the girl woke up, rubbing her eyes and yawning. Slowly, she got up from her bed, exited her room, and entered the bathroom, splashing some water into her face and looking at her reflection. The girl wore a white-and-pink nightgown, with her red and maroon hair being an utter mess. Stretching her arms and yawning, the girl brushed her teeth and gave her face a quick wash before exiting the bathroom and walking down the hallway to return to her room.

But before she returned, she decided to check up on her father.

Walking to his room, the girl knocked on the door, and heard a groan from the other side.

"Dad?" the girl asked as she opened the door…and rose an eyebrow in disgust at the scene before her.

Her father, head face-down on a desk, was still dressed in his day clothes, a white and blue flannel shirt with gray slack pants, and he was still wearing his lab coat. What was more noticeable were the large number of sketches, calculations, and pieces of technological equipment scattered all over his room. Her father treated his home office and room as the same area, which meant that his bed was piled high with computer parts, that his file cabinet was next to his closet, and that there was very little room to walk.

"Ray?" her father mumbled groggily.

Thankfully, Ray had a solution whenever her father had stayed up late working at his desk.

WHAM!

"GAH!" her father yelped, a comical welt growing on his short-haired head.

"Seriously dad, why do you always do this?" Ray asked incredulously, holding a paper harisen fan in her right hand.

"Ugh…" her father groaned, getting up from his chair, revealing a name-tag that read: Professor Leo Akaba.

"You've been staying up like this for the past two weeks now!" Ray admonished, wondering why her father had this bad habit.

Leo was still groggy. "The company's thinking of a way to improve the system…I've been up doing calculations for what we'd need for expanding the product."

Ray rolled her eyes before her father could explain more.

"I'm going to get dressed and start preparing breakfast, you clean yourself and this room up!" Ray said, leaving the room and her half-asleep dad.

Ray did exactly what she said she would do, and 30 minutes later, she had changed into her normal clothes, a long suit-like blue-and purple shirt with white sleeves. She wore a strap around on her left leg, which carried a box containing her cards, and white boots. Her messy hair had now been arranged into two long tails thanks to her white hair clips.

Breakfast was also on the table, with Ray making sure to brew some extra coffee for her father, who drudged into the room, having tidied himself up, but his eyes were still half-closed as he yawned and sat at the table.

"Ugh…" he moaned, taking a sip from his mug.

"So…I'm going to be heading over to the arena, I have a duel there at noon." Ray said, sitting down and munching on a piece of toast. "You'll be able to make it there right?"

Becoming more alert thanks to the caffeine rush, Leo took another sip of coffee. "I will." He said, rubbing his temples in annoyance.

"What's wrong?" Ray asked, knowing that her father was troubled.

"It's the company, I'm trying to figure out and create a new usage for our hard-light applications." Leo explained. "If I can do that, well, I'll be able to put our company on the map!"

Leo Akaba worked for a growing company known as Venus Corporation, which specialized in hard light apps. These were used mainly for minor simulations, holograms that were mainly used to add some flair to a person's home, or used by other companies for advertising their products. A person could have birds manifest onto their balconies, and a car producer could create a demonstrative replica of their latest model. Being a relatively new technology, many companies were being founded in various attempts to dominate the market. So far though, none of the current corporations had managed to gain a dominate foothold on the hard light industry.

"What do you have in mind?" Ray asked, scooping some rice into her mouth.

Leo was silent as he downed his coffee in frustration. Finally, he spoke.

"I'm stumped on that." He confirmed, fuming. "I've prepared all the calculations we would need to properly upgrade our systems to maintain a new application…but I'm still stumped on what that application should be, and…"

Leo was interrupted by a loud ringtone.

"Hold that thought, I've got a call!" Ray exclaimed, getting up and reaching for her cell phone, plugged into a charger on the kitchen counter.

"Hello?" Ray asked, hitting the 'Call' button as Leo picked up his own bowl of rice.

" _Ray!"_ A female voice answered hastily.

"Oh, hey Aiyo!" Ray greeted. "What's up?"

" _You're up! Great!"_ Aiyo cried in a panic. " _A bunch of duelists who were supposed to have showed up this morning didn't! They're moving up the rest of the matches! You're on at 10:00, or in other words, in 30 minutes!"_

Ray's eyes bugged out of her hair. She then took a deep breath before replying to Aiyo's call.

"Thanks Aiyo. I'll be right down there." Ray replied calmly.

Pocketing her cell phone, Ray stood motionless for a few seconds. Then...

"AHHHHHH!" Ray screamed in panic before she dashed over to the table, scooped up the remainder of the toast, and ran up to her room in a frenzy.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Ray screamed, before jamming toast into her mouth.

"Ray! Language!" Leo admonished, surprised by Ray's sudden rush and usage of swear words.

"They've moved up my bracket!" Ray called from her room, grabbing her deck, duel disk, wallet, and housekeys hurriedly before rushing back downstairs and entering the garage.

Inside the garage was a pink motorcycle, holding two bladewings on each side of the machine's front. Ray grabbed her helmet, and then a pair of pink goggles. She pulled out her keys, revealing a garage door opener. Pressing the button, the garage door opened.

"Hurry up, hurry up." Ray chanted to herself as she propped herself up on her D-Wheel, putting on the helmet and goggles.

The instant she was clear to leave, Ray hit the accelerator and zipped out of the garage, rode along the driveway, and was soon out on the streets of Crescent City.

Crescent City was one of many highly advanced technological metropolises that had existed ever since the building of projects such as Heartland, located many miles to the north. It had two prominent features, the first of which were the devices used to elevate landmasses, which were known as 'Laputa Modules', named after the island in _Gulliver's Travels._ The second was the architectural style of the buildings, which all incorporated heavy filleting and interior curves. Thus, the name Crescent City, a metropolis that hung in the air with the curves of the moon.

Ray dashed down a street, hastily turning on an intersection, forcing several people back.

"Sorry!" she called as some people wearing suits shook their fists at her angrily.

Soon, Ray reached a bridge that connected to the place she needed to be at, _Duel Dome – Gibbous 5,_ named after the level a duelist needed to be at officially in order to play competitively there, Gibbous referring to a duelist's skill bracket, and the 5 referring to the specific level within said skill bracket, 1 being the lowest, and 5 being the highest.

Ray parked her D-Wheel in the lot, took off her helmet and tucked it into the crook of her arm, and then ran for the lobby. She ran through several of the morning crowds, enduring the annoyance of people trying to enter the facility themselves.

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry about that!" she cried out, apologizing for cutting and shoving her way through.

Eventually, Ray reached the lobby's front desk, and presented her Membership I.D. Card, used for those who would compete in the present-day dueling leagues.

"Good morning! Here's my card!" Ray panted.

The woman at the front looked at Ray with mild amusement, and silently pointed her to the locker room.

Ray gave brief thanks before making her way to the locker room. It was same-sex, but as it didn't have showers, there wasn't a need to divide up the lockers by gender. Not that that didn't mean that several people didn't use the locker rooms for…certain pleasures, but that was not relevant now.

Ray entered the locker room, looking for the locker with her name on it. Certain duelists could reserve lockers with specialized codes on them if they won enough duels, and Ray was one of them. Locating it, Ray entered the unlocking code and stuffed her helmet into the locker, and sat down on a bench to catch her breath, putting her googles up on her forehead.

Ray pulled out her cell phone and looked at the time. 9:47. So she had enough time to catch her breath before her match started at 10:00.

"Ugh…" she groaned, pulling out her deck and examining her cards for a few minutes, making sure that everything was in place. Once she was sure of it, she put her deck away and looked around the room.

The locker room was empty aside from Ray and another youth about her age, who was looking at her and, with a wicked glint in his eyes, seemed to be trying not to laugh. He had spiky silver hair with green highlights, and wore a blue-and-white jacket, brown gloves, and black-and-brown pants with several buckles and belts, one of which seemed to hold the box that contained his deck.

Ray narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

"You got something to say Zarc?" She asked, growling as she cracked her knuckles threateningly, not in the mood to deal with hecklers, even if she knew who said heckler was.

The glint in Zarc's eyes disappeared instantly, and fear overcame his face as Ray got up from the bench, pulling out her fan.

"No, no!" he said, waving his hands nervously as he sweat dropped. "It's just, you came in here all panicky, and, y'know…it was kind of funny..."

"Zarc..." Ray growled, preparing to smack the cauliflower-haired duelist.

"P-please don't hurt me Ray!" Zarc stammered, waving his hands frantically.

"I'd like to know what YOU were doing this whole time." She growled. "Like say, why YOU didn't call me about a schedule change."

"I-I was just in here! I didn't know about any changes in the schedule!" he exclaimed.

"So, you didn't decide to prank me like I'm some kind of idiot?" Ray asked in a menacing tone.

"You know I'm horrible with schedule changes!" Zarc blurted out.

Ray glared at Zarc, his eyes comically begging her not to attack him. Ray's glare persisted for five seconds, softened, and then, with a sign of exhaustion, she closed her eyes, put the fan away, and crashed down next to Zarc.

"Sorry, Zarc, I'm just…it's adrenaline." Ray murmured.

"I mean, I really didn't know that there was a change! I was just in here and –" Zarc began, only for Ray to put a finger up to his mouth.

"Forget about it, it's okay. I'm sorry that I was going to hit for something that wasn't your fault." She said as a resolute smile came across her face. "Besides, even if it's early, I don't intend to lose my match."

Zarc blushed as Ray stretched her arms, winding the stress and adrenaline out of her system.

" _Would Ray Akaba and No. 9 come to the dueling stadium please. Ray Akaba and No. 9 to the dueling stadium please"._ The intercom announced.

"And that's my cue." Ray sighed, getting up, pulling her goggles down to her eyes.

"Ray!" Zarc called up just as Ray rounded a corner.

"What is it Zarc?" Ray asked.

"Good luck!" he beamed, giving Ray a thumbs-up.

Ray gave a small smile, then hurried on her way.

With that, Zarc also got up from the bench, and made his way to the audience entrance of the stadium where Ray would be dueling. The stadium was circular in shape, not unlike the other stadiums in Crescent City, but it was relatively small compared to the major league arenas. It was still large, but was designed for lower-level duels that wouldn't attract as much attendance. Like all the arenas in Crescent City, an enormous crystal structure hung from the purple ceiling, trailing blue lines of light along the structure.

Zarc took his seat, and looked around the stadium. Being that it was early morning, not many people had showed up, giving the early-birds the place all to themselves. Speaking of early birds…

"Oi, Zarc, what are you looking at?" one of two girls in the row below him asked.

Zarc looked down to look at the two women. They were both his age, 19 years old. The girl to his left had thick, pitch-black hair that seemed to cover either her left or right eye on a whim, and wore a black jacket over a simple lavender T-Shirt, along with a pair of black jeans. She also noticeably had eyebags under her eyes whenever they came into view. The girl to his right, who was also the one who had spoken up, had blue-green hair, which had a lock that stuck upwards, along with a shade of navy blue hair at the back of her head. She wore an orange scarf over her clothes, which consisted of a brown jacket over a white shirt, along with beige cargo pants.

"Just looking around the stadium before Ray shows up Aiyo." Zarc said.

"So, she made it?" Aiyo asked.

"Yeah…apparently there was some kind of schedule change." Zarc replied.

"You didn't know?!" Aiyo asked incredulously "You get here earlier than the rest of us, and you didn't know about the schedule change?"

"I just figure that getting here early makes things easier! I'm awful at memorizing dates! Especially if they change right out of the blue!" Zarc grumbled.

"And thus, the responsibility of making sure that everyone gets here on time falls to me, as always…" Aiyo muttered.

"And why we had to come here so early…" the black-haired girl mumbled sleepily. "I wanna go back to bed."

"You'll be able to get back to bed after your duel Maho." Aiyo said, patting her on the back. "If you fall asleep, just think about how you're going to beat today's opponent."

Maho did not respond, and started snoring lightly instead.

"Maho, wake up." Aiyo said, shaking her friend on the shoulder gently.

Maho did not wake up.

"Zarc, can you try to do something?" Aiyo sighed.

"The last time I tried interrupting Maho from doing something, I nearly got my legs broken! Then I nearly got my arms broken because Ray thought something perverted was going on!" Zarc protested.

"Pathetic, getting tossed around by girls like a beach ball, and you dare to claim that you are my rival!" A new voice announced.

The three looked up, and saw a muscular man with spiked dirty blonde hair with gray streaks and tanned skin, wearing his black jacket over his shoulders, take a seat on the aisle above Zarc. His arms were almost bare, aside from his white muscle shirt and blue jeans.

"You do realize that Ray, Maho, and I have beaten you before, right Shogeki?" Aiyo deadpanned.

"It matters not!" Shogeki proclaimed, fist gripping the air. "If Zarc cannot stand-up for himself in front of his girlfriend, he has no right to call himself a man!"

"…And as usual, you do not make sense." Aiyo deadpanned.

"I'm trying to keep myself awake, okay?" Shogeki snapped. "I don't like waking up early and learning that my duel's been bumped up to right after Ray's!"

"U-um…you do realize that Ray and I aren't officially together, together, right?" Zarc asked, changing the subject before Aiyo and Shogeki could continue to argue.

"You need a spine, Zarc!" Shogeki chastised. "If you can't stand up to Ray's father, then you'll never make it to second base with Ray! Perhaps today's the day I help you with that! You and I are up next after Ray's done dueling that No. 9 guy! I will take it upon myself to fully instill grit and determination into you!"

"I've got plenty of grit and determination!" Zarc shot back.

"Why are you three being so loud?" Maho muttered. "I'm trying to sleep."

"Maho, you do realize who the announcer is, right?" Aiyo asked. "You'll be lucky to get sleep once he-"

But Aiyo's statement was finished for her, as before she could continue, the lights went dark, and the spotlights activated, shining on the entrances to the dueling arena. Dramatic music blared through the speakers as the commentary for the duel began.

A man of average height, and short, curly black hair with glasses, wearing a beige suit and pants, sat in the announcer's booth.

"Ichiro Hatsuta reporting, and it is my pleasure!" the man bellowed, "To begin today's tournament! We have early entrances today, so let's make the most of them! To begin today's duels, we have the warrior of power! The knight who accesses hidden potential! NO. 9! VERSUS! The ray of light! The beacon of harmony! AKABA RAY!"

"Damn…announcer guy…" Maho groaned.

"GO RAY! GO RAY! GO RAY!" Zarc cheered.

From Zarc's perspective, Ray emerged from the right entrance, while her opponent entered from the left. The duelist was a tall man, who wore a black body suit that almost completely covered his body, except for his face, whereupon his eyes were obscured by a large red visor. He wore a green jacket vest with a blue trimming, as well as dark green boots.

"What kind of duel will these two show us?! Let's find out!" Ichiro roared with passion.

"The kind of duel I will show you, girl, is a duel where you lie on the ground defeated." No. 9 growled, activating his duel disk, an orange curled blade made of energy exerted from a wristband that had patterns on both sides.

"Oh, come on! A duel is meant to be fun…but if you want to play rough, we'll play rough." Ray teased, activating her own duel disk, which was shaped identically to No. 9's, except the blade of Ray's disk was colored pink.

"3...2….1…. START!" Ichiro declared.

 **DUEL!**

 **RAY LP: 4000**

 **NO. 9 LP: 4000**

"I'll start things off!" Ray declared, slamming a monster card onto her duel disk. "I summon **Diva of the Migrating Origin**!"

An angel-like figure with graying hair and pale-white skin dressed in deep-red clothing not unlike an opera singer, from the days of Shakespeare, descended onto the field, humming a gentle tune. Her eyes were closed, but despite that, she seemed aware of what was going on.

 **Diva of the Migrating Origin/LIGHT/Level 4/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1200**

"I'll end my turn with one face-down card." Ray said, as the card back manifested onto the field.

"Hmph, a basic starting move." No. 9 grunted. "Draw! I summon Evocator Chevalier!"

Slamming his card onto the duel disk, a column of flame burst into existence, before solidifying into a knight dressed in red armor and wielding a curved sword. The knight's hands burned with fire as he gave his sword test swings, glaring at Ray's monster.

Evocator Chevalier/FIRE/Level 4/Warrior/Gemini/Effect/ATK: 1900/DEF: 900

"A Gemini monster?" Ray asked.

"Correct!" No. 9 grinned. "When I said that your move was a basic one, woman, I meant it! The strategies that a duelist must use in order to properly wield Gemini monsters far surpass those used for other monsters! Now behold a move that has more thought put into it! I activate Foolish Burial to send a monster in my deck to the Graveyard!"

A card was ejected from No.9's wrist dealer and he revealed the card to Ray.

"The monster I am sending is **Sequince Knight Errant**." No. 9 revealed, dumping the card into the Graveyard slot.

" _If he's claiming that his moves are complex, then there's probably a reason he sent that monster to the graveyard."_ Ray thought.

"Now, I activate the Equip Spell Card, Supervise!" No. 9 revealed. "As you know, Gemini monsters are treated as Normal Monsters while face-up on the field or graveyard, but, by Normal Summoning them a second time, one can unlock their effects!"

"But I'm going to guess that the card you just played is going to get around that weakness?" Ray asked rhetorically.

"Hmph, what you would call a weakness, I call a strength!" No. 9 retorted. "Supervise enables me to treat my Gemini monster as an effect monster that gains its effects!"

Evocator Chevalier roared as the flames from his hands now spread to cover his entire body, and he brandished his sword wildly at Ray's monster.

"Now, I'll use the effect of Evocator Chevalier! By sending an Equip Card I control to the graveyard, I can target and destroy 1 card you control! Say goodbye to your face-down card, lady!" No. 9 said.

Evocator Chevalier spun his sword around, flames focusing into the blade. Chevalier rose the sword into the air, and swung the blade at Ray's set card, unleashing a wave of fire that threatened to burn the card into ashes.

"Nope!" Ray sang, snapping her fingers to activate the set card, which depicted several rays of colored light orbiting a large orb of white energy.

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card, **Sign of the Migrating Origin**! This card shuffles a 'Migrating Origin' monster on my field into my deck, and then Special Summons a different one whose Level is equal to or less than that of the shuffled monster! I'll use this effect on my Diva and summon **Huntress of the Migrating Origin**!"

A ray of white light consumed Diva, before morphing into a multi-colored orb that began to pulse, eventually focusing on a single color: Dark blue. A column of blue light burst onto the field, and a new monster leaped onto the field. Huntress took on the form of a cat woman with thick blue hair and tiger-like patterns on her skin, wearing clothing that was a mix between a ballerina and hunter's outfit. She was also wielding a bow-and-arrow and nocked the weapon towards Evocator Chevalier.

 **Huntress of the Migrating Origin/DARK/Level 4/Beast-Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1200**

No.9 growled in frustration as Chevalier's sword beam of fire ended up impacting nothing and dissipated once it had moved past where its target used to be.

"OH!" Ichiro yelled. "Ray manages to save her set card and waste Chevalier's effect! An impressive move indeed!"

"YES! GO RAY! I believe in you!" Zarc fanboyed.

"Too…early…for this…" Maho groaned as she covered her ears from Zarc's loud cheering and Ichiro's powerfully bombastic commentary.

"Show some respect Maho!" Shogeki chastised. "Our friend's over there, cheer her on! Keep him off-guard, Ray!"

"Keep it up, Ray!" Aiyo cheered. "You've got this!"

"Oh, don't worry, guys!" Ray chirped. "I'm not done yet! When Diva gets shuffled from my field or graveyard into my deck, I'm allowed to Special Summon another Level 4 or lower 'Migrating Origin' monster from my deck! I choose **Sorceress of the Migrating Origin!** "

A spectral image of Diva appeared over Ray's field, singing a melody that started off soft, but soon became deeper and richer as a white portal appeared and another woman appeared on the field. This one had long, spiked pink hair, and wore a set of green sorceress robes. In addition, she had a branch-shaped metallic staff, with the curved end having a bell at the end. She looked at the arena serenely and swung her staff gently, ringing the bell, all while glowing with a lavender aura indicating that Ray had summoned her in Defense Position.

 **Sorceress of the Migrating Origin/WIND/Level 3/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000**

"Gah! You're doing what you like on my turn!" No. 9 griped. "And having people cheer this early in the duel! Disrespectful!"

"Yeah, well none of us really planned on being here early!" Ray snapped back. "Some good morning cheer is always welcome!"

"I'm always here early!" Zarc chimed in.

"Except Zarc, and look at him! He's trying to acknowledge our duel! So, cut the audience some slack!" Ray criticized.

No.9 remained silent, but Ray could tell that he was stewing over the situation.

"Oh!" Ray said, snapping her fingers as if she had remembered something. "Because I Special Summoned Huntress from my deck, until your End Phase, her attack points double!"

Huntress began to glow with a navy-blue aura, nocking a second arrow along with her first one into her bow, tiger markings becoming thicker and jagged.

 **Huntress of the Migrating Origin/ATK: 1600 X 2 = 3200**

"In addition, during the turn that I summoned Sorceress, if I shuffled a 'Migrating Origin' monster into my deck, Sorceress lets me add a 'Migrating Origin' card with a different name from my deck to my hand! I pick my **Bluebird of the Migrating Origin**!" Ray explained.

Sorceress rang the bell on her staff, releasing a breeze of wind that furled into Ray's wrist dealer, and caused it to eject a card that Ray added to her hand.

"Well…" No.9 muttered. "I'll give you credit for a move that wasn't so simple…but I won't be beaten by makeshift tactics like that! Supervise has another effect! If it is sent to the graveyard, I'm allowed to Special Summon 1 Normal Monster in my graveyard, and since I only have one, you can guess who's coming back! Revive now, Sequince Knight Errant!"

There were still flames surrounding Evocator Chevalier, and they gathered into a circle, forming a red portal in the ground. A knight wearing worn-down grey armor atop a horse covered in rune markings stormed from the portal and onto the field, brandishing a short sword at his enemies as the horse neighed furiously.

 **Sequince Knight Errant/EARTH/Level 4/Warrior/Gemini/Effect/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1700**

"Next, I activate the Spell Card, _Arms Regeneration_! This card enables me to target one monster on either player's side of the field and equip it with an Equip Spell Card in either player's Graveyard!" No. 9 declared. "And I will target my Sequince Knight Errant, equipping him with Supervise!"

Errant began glowing with a flame-like aura, only for it to recede just as soon as it had appeared. But when the aura receded, his armor began to shine, as if it had been refurbished. His short sword doubled in length, and the rune markings on his horse began to glow, with additional armor plating forming in several areas to guard the steed's body.

"Sequince Knight Errant's effect activates!" No. 9 declared. "Once per turn, I can send 1 Equip Spell Card and Warrior-Type Gemini monster from my deck to the graveyard, but if I happen to send 'Sequince Knight' cards, then I can add those cards to my hand instead!"

"But that means that you'll basically get to add two cards to your hand!" Ray pointed out.

"Technically…yes." No. 9 admitted. "But I have a plan in mind! I send Knight Day Grepher to the graveyard, along with the equip spell card **Sequince Knight Lance**! And since my Lance is a 'Sequince Knight' card, it returns to my hand!"

Errant raised his sword, opening a purple portal filled with dark clouds. A muscular soldier with steel-blue hair and pink armor fell into the portal, while a black lance covered in runes not dissimilar to the ones on Errant's horse nearly entered the portal, only to be grabbed by Errant and flung back to his owner, whereupon the lance returned to being a simple card that No.9 grabbed.

"Next, by destroying Supervise, I can Special Summon this monster from my hand! Come forth! **Sequince Knight Squire**!" No. 9 explained.

A young boy wearing a tunic and sparse pieces of armor jumped onto the field, shredding the Supervise card to ribbons. The boy pulled out a knife and pointed it at Ray, trying to look as intimidating as possible for his size.

 **Sequince Knight Squire/EARTH/Level 2/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 800/DEF: 800**

"Since Supervise was equipped to a 'Sequince Knight', I get to return the card to my hand." No. 9 sneered as his duel disk ejected the card from his Graveyard.

"So, you've got Supervise in your hand again…" Ray murmured, mind racing as she realized a potential combo that No. 9 was going for.

"Yes, but since Supervise was initially sent to the graveyard before I retrieved it, it's effect activates and revives a normal monster! Return!" No.9 commanded. "Knight Day Grepher!"

The pink-armored warrior arose from the purple graveyard portal, swinging his sword with great confidence.

Knight Day Grepher/LIGHT/Level 4/Warrior/Gemini/Effect/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1600

"And now, I activate Supervise again!" No. 9 declared, "I will equip it to Sequince Knight Errant!"

It was then that No.9's strategy became clear to both Ray and the audience.

"He's going for a loop combo!" Aiyo realized. "Errant went back to being a Normal Monster when Supervise was destroyed…but since it's going to become an Effect Monster again, it'll be as if it never used its effect at all!"

"RAY!" Zarc cried out in alarm.

"I will activate Errant's effect once more!" No. 9 declared. "This time, I will send **Sequince Knight Sword** and a second copy of Squire! Of course, since they're 'Sequince Knight' cards, I'm allowed to return them to my hand!"

"And you're going to summon your second copy of Squire I suppose." Ray deadpanned.

"You catch on fast!" No. 9 taunted. "I destroy Supervise in order to summon the second copy of Squire from my hand!"

A second boy in a tunic, identical to the first leaped onto the field, causing the Supervise card to disintegrate once more…only for it to return to No. 9's hand.

 **Sequince Knight Squire/EARTH/Level 2/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 800/DEF: 800**

"I activate Supervise once again!" No. 9 said, causing Errant's armor to shine once more as it was equipped.

"And then you're going to basically add more cards to your hand." Ray grimaced. "For a complicated strategy, it's not hard to see what you're planning on doing."

"Perhaps, perhaps…" No.9 purred. "But it means that the chances of you losing have just gone up! I send **Sequince Knight Shield** and **Black Sequince Knight** to my graveyard via Errant's effect, and then, return them to my hand!"

"Incredible!" Ichiro's voice boomed. "In just one turn, No. 9 has managed to summon five monsters against Ray's two! Will the match end on only its second turn?!"

"It won't come to that!" Zarc protested. "You've got this Ray!"

"Indeed!" another voice roared. "Get him Ray!"

Zarc, Shogeki, and Aiyo looked up, seeing that to Shogeki's left was Leo Akaba himself.

"S-Si-Sir!" Zarc stammered, "When did you get here?"

"I don't recall sending a message to him…" Aiyo muttered.

"I promised my daughter that I'd see her duel today." Leo replied as if this fact should've been obvious. "What kind of father would I be if I didn't? Besides, just as after Ray left…amidst more swearing than I'd prefer she'd blurt out I must say…"

Leo gave a brief glare at Zarc, Shogeki, and the still half-asleep Maho before continuing.

"I had a moment of inspiration, and came here as quickly and safely as I could. Perhaps today will finally enable me to solve the problem that has been plaguing me in the past few weeks."

"What problem would that be Professor Akaba?" Aiyo asked.

"Well…let's just say that it's a secret for now." Leo said, expression remaining rather stoic as he focused his attention at his daughter's duel.

"The preparations are ready." No.9 grinned. "I overlay my Level 4 Knight Day Grepher and Sequince Knight Errant!"

The two warriors transformed into streams of light, with Grepher turning into yellow light, while Errant turned into orange light. The two streams flew into the air, while a galaxy-esque portal opened up in the ground. The two lights dove into the portal, causing a pillar of blue lightning to burst from the portal. It was then that No.9 began a summoning chant.

" _Warrior of the honored grounds, march onto the battlefield and send your men to war! XYZ SUMMON! Come forth, Rank 4!_ _ **Sequince Knight Commander**_ _!"_

Riding on a horse covered in silver armor etched with golden runes, the new warrior marched onto the dueling field. Sequince Knight Commander himself took on the appearance of a classic knight wearing a steel-gray armor, with no distinctive features that could've set him apart from the armor of Errant. That being said however, ribbons covered in runic script trailed behind him, and the knight pulled out a rapier, ready for battle as two orbs of light orbited his form.

 **Sequince Knight Commander/EARTH/Rank 4/Warrior/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000/2 Overlay Units**

"Now, the time has come for me to crush you woman!" No.9 roared. "Your defeat is inevitable!"

"Really?" Ray asked sarcastically, as if she didn't really believe that No.9 had the means to defeat her on only his first turn.

"Yes, really!" No.9 replied "I activate Commander's effect! Once per turn, I detach 1 overlay unit to inflict damage to you equal to half of its ATK! That being said, if I happen to detach a 'Sequince Knight', then you receive the full damage instead!"

"Oh crap!" Ray cried out in genuine alarm.

"By detaching Errant, you'll take 1800 damage! GO!" No.9 ordered.

Sequince Knight Commander solemnly rose his rapier, absorbing one of the orbs of light. He then slashed the air, sending a wave of energy straight towards Ray, who rose her left arm in self-defense in an attempt to resist the blow. The energy wave crashed against her duel disk, causing Ray to take a step back as she recovered from the blow.

 **Ray LP: 2200**

"Tch." Ray muttered.

"Now, I can't destroy Huntress via battle…but that's where Supervise comes in again!" No. 9 said, activating the card and equipping it to Evocator Chevalier.

"Destroy Huntress!" he commanded.

Evocator Chevalier rose his blade once more, and unleashed a wave of fire that consumed Huntress and destroyed her, causing her to shriek.

Ray muttered under her breath…as did Zarc.

"Is there something wrong?" Leo asked.

"Uh…no, no, nothing sir!" Zarc tensed up.

"Then stop grumbling…." Maho muttered sleepily.

"Your strongest monster is gone." No. 9 said smugly. "With this, victory is all but assured! I activate Supervise's effect again! I resurrect Sequince Knight Errant!"

Once again, the knight with the faded armor leaped onto the field, ready to resume battle.

"Is this going to take much longer?" Ray asked. "You have the means of defeating me right now, you know."

"Shut up!" No. 9 responded indignantly. "I'm not going in until everything is ready!"

"That's what she said." Ray smirked.

No. 9 was silent, fuming.

"Ray has apparently decided to engage in taunting! Why!? Is it a bluff?! Or is it something else!? Whatever it is, it's gotten No. 9 enraged!" Ichiro roared.

"Yeesh, what's his problem?" Aiyo asked. "Why's he letting a joke like that get to him?"

"Perhaps it's because he knows that little girls should not make such crass jokes." Leo said sternly.

"Yeah…that's it." Maho snorted sarcastically, unable to return to sleep from all of the noise.

"Maybe Ray's trying to catch him off-guard?" Zarc ventured.

"If she's relying on a tactic like that to win a duel, then she has no right to be called a duelist." Shogeki said bluntly. "A true duelist shouldn't have to use such underhanded methods to gain an advantage."

"I doubt that." Aiyo pointed out. "I don't know the guy, but No. 9 doesn't seem like the type of person who would give into a taunt like that…even if he is overreacting."

Back to the duel, No. 9 beckoned towards his monsters.

"Sequince Knight Commander, once per turn, can grant a Warrior-Type Gemini monster its effects if they have not been gained. I select Sequince Knight Errant, and with that, I use his effect once more! I send **Sequince Knight Shield** and **Black Sequince Knight** to my graveyard…which means that they now return to my hand!"

Before Ray could catch a glimpse of what they looked like, the two cards simply returned to No. 9's hand.

No. 9 sneered. "And now…I equip Sequince Knight Errant, Sequince Knight Commander, and Evocator Chevalier with, respectively: Sequince Knight Lance, Sequince Knight Sword, and Sequince Knight Shield!"

The weapons materialized in the hands of the three knights. Errant traded his sword for the ornate lance, while Commander sheathed his rapier for a large claymore. Evocator Chevalier rose his right arm, and a metallic shield covered in runes similar to the lance appeared.

"Now then, Shield does not offer any ATK or DEF changes, but my Sword and Lance do!" No. 9 explained.

"Sequince Knight Lance will give Errant 500 additional ATK, along with piercing damage, while Sword will give Commander 800 more ATK and the ability to attack once again after he's destroyed one of your monsters in battle!"

 **Sequince Knight Errant/ATK: 2300**

 **Sequince Knight Commander/ATK: 3200**

"This is the board you were aiming to make, weren't you?" Ray asked, her prior snark and sarcasm gone.

"Yes!" No. 9 grinned. "Now, BATTLE! Sequince Knight Commander, shred Sorceress to ribbons! Resolute Medieval!"

An orange glint erupted from Commander's helmet as he led the charge, cutting Sorceress in half, causing the woman to scream before she faded away.

"I activate Sorceress' effect!" Ray declared. "During either player's turn, I can shuffle her from my graveyard and back into my deck!"

"What good will that do?" No. 9 taunted.

"You'll see soon enough." Ray replied.

"I doubt that very much!" No. 9 said. "Sequince Knight Sword lets Commander attack again! Go, Commander! Destroy the rest of her life points!"

"RAY!" Zarc cried out in alarm.

"Why does everyone have to cry out dramatically like that?" Maho moaned, causing Aiyo to bop her on the head.

"Is this the end for Ray Akaba already?!" Ichiro bellowed.

"No, it isn't!" Ray said, slamming a card onto her duel disk.

At that moment, a petite bird-woman manifested onto the field, with wing-arms covered in blue feathers whilst wearing a dark blue coat decorated with teal orbs. Raising her arms in a defensive posture, the girl conjured a barrier of blue wind, deflecting Commander's second sword strike.

"What is that?" No. 9 asked.

"She's the card I added to my hand via Sorceress' effect." Ray explained. "Bluebird of the Migrating Origin. If an attack is declared, I can shuffle 1 'Migrating Origin' monster, in this case, Huntress, from my graveyard into my deck and Special Summon her. Bluebird cannot be destroyed in battle, and since I summoned her in Defense mode, I take no damage to boot."

 **Bluebird of the Migrating Origin/WIND/Level 1/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 0**

"Bah, a futile waste of time." No. 9 scoffed. "While Commander can't inflict damage, I still have a monster who can! Sequince Knight Errant, finish her off!"

Errant charged on his horse, lance prepared to skewer Bluebird, who conjured the blue wind barrier once again.

"I'm not out yet!" Ray called. "I discard Comprimario of the Migrating Origin! If a 'Migrating Origin' monster battles, I can discard this card, target 1 'Migrating Origin' monster in my graveyard, shuffle the target into my deck, and increase the ATK and DEF of the battling monster by that of the ATK and DEF of the shuffled monster! I shuffle Comprimario herself into my deck and increase Bluebird's ATK and DEF by that of Comprimario's!"

 **Comprimario of the Migrating Origin/LIGHT/Level 3/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1200**

 **Bluebird of the Migrating Origin/DEF: 1200**

"Damn it!" No. 9 cursed as Errant's Lance collided with Bluebird's barrier, strengthened by another angel in clear white opera wear, Comprimario.

Errant's weapon managed to break through the shield, but Bluebird and Comprimario managed to dodge the attack, as a spiral blast of energy tore through and hit Ray. Thanks to Comprimario however, the blast was buffeted by the remaining winds of Bluebird's barrier and as such, when it hit Ray, was not as strong as it should've been.

Ray remained standing after being hit by the gust of wind, teeth gritting with determination.

"Ray has saved herself from near-defeat!" Ichiro commented. "But will she continue to be able to block No. 9's attacks?"

 **Ray LP: 1100**

"You've saved yourself for now woman." No. 9 growled. "But I'm not done yet! On my Main Phase 2, I activate the effect of Evocator Chevalier!"

"But Chevalier lost its effects!" Ray pointed out.

"Not quite." No. 9 grinned. "You see, my Sequince Knight equip spell cards can only give additional benefits to monsters that already have their effects and only one can be equipped at a time. But, if equipped to a monster that hasn't gained its effects, then, it will grant that ability to them!"

"Which means…" Ray said

"That I can use Chevalier's effect again!" No. 9 cackled. "I send Sequince Knight Lance to the graveyard in order to destroy your Bluebird!"

Evocator Chevalier launched a blast of fire from his sword at Sequince Knight Errant, who deflected the blow at the cost of his lance. The blast of fire shot towards Bluebird, and incinerated the poor girl.

"When my Lance is sent to the graveyard, I'm allowed to draw one card!" No. 9 explained as he drew with a flourish. He smirked when he saw the card.

"Now then, to solidify my victory, I'll firm up my formation! I overlay the Level 2 Sequince Knight Squires!"

"Another Xyz summon?!" Ray exclaimed.

"Yes!" No. 9 grinned as the two Squires turned into light streams and entered the overlay network.

" _Fierce warrior whose size hides great ferocity! Armor yourself and devour the enemy! XYZ SUMMON! Rank 2!_ _ **Lagos the Small Soldier**_ _!"_

What appeared next was a combination of unsettling and adorable. A large bipedal rabbit, not too dissimilar from Rescue Rabbit hopped onto the field. The 'adorable' part came from the rabbit being, well…a rabbit. The 'unsettling' part came from how the rabbit hopped onto his hindlegs, carrying a small spear, shield, and wearing armor made from bones.

 **Lagos the Small Soldier/DARK/Rank 2/Beast-Warrior/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 1400/DEF: 800/2 Overlay Units**

"Is that thing supposed to be cute or badass?" Shogeki asked. "I can't tell."

"Aww!" Maho gushed, finally awake. "IT'S SO FLUFFY! AND IT'S WEARING BONES! IT'S PREWCIOUS!"

"…Welp, you heard the judge." Aiyo deadpanned.

Zarc was silent, staring at the rabbit. His eyes were focused…and then widened with what appeared to be terror.

"I say it's neither cute or badass Shogeki. It's terrifying." Zarc said.

"Aww…he's adorable!" Ray gushed.

"H-he isn't adorable!" No. 9 spluttered. "He's the key to my victory! I activate Lagos' effect! I detach 1 overlay unit to place 1 Small Counter on all of my monsters! If a monster would be destroyed, I can remove a Small Counter instead, and for each Small Counter on the field, Lagos gains 200 ATK!"

Lagos' shield multiplied to four, with three of the new shields hovering above the other warriors, projecting a purple barrier to protect No.9's small army.

 **Lagos the Small Soldier/ATK: 2200**

"I set two cards face-down. Turn End." No.9 finished smugly.

"INCREDIBLE!" Ichiro announced. "No. 9 has summoned two Xyz Monsters on his first turn, and has already managed to reduce Ray to 1100 LP! Can Ray bounce back from this?!"

"She can, I know she can." Zarc said quietly.

But could Ray pull through? Well…

"My turn, draw!" Ray declared, looking at her current card.

"While you try to think of way out of your inevitable defeat." No. 9 said. "I activate the trap card Reinforce Truth! Now I Special Summon a Level 2 or lower Warrior monster from my deck! Arise! Gemini Soldier!"

Ray watched as a masked warrior decked in green and white armor, wielding a set of throwing darts, manifested onto the field, glowing with the lavender aura of Defense Position.

Gemini Soldier/WIND/Level 2/Warrior/Gemini/Effect/ATK: 500/DEF: 300

"Okay. I activate the Spell Card, **Treasure of the Migrating Origin**! I shuffle a 'Migrating Origin' monster from my graveyard into my deck and draw 2 cards!" Ray declared, but No. 9 wasn't having any of it.

"Ha! I've got you now!" he laughed. "I activate Gemini Counter! I change Gemini Soldier to face-down Defense Position and negate your Spell Card! Now you have no way to fight back! It's my turn!"

Gemini Soldier was flipped face-down, with a small purple orb covered in spikes appearing over it. Ray's spell card, which showed coins emerging from stardust, appeared, then crumbled into dust. Ray was annoyed, but wasn't planning on giving up so easily.

"It's still my turn No. 9" Ray said, stopping her opponent from drawing a card in haste. "I'd like to point out that Treasure of the Migrating Origin was in my hand during my first turn. The card I drew hasn't been used yet. Besides which, the cost to activate Treasure, i.e. shuffling Bluebird into my deck, still goes through." Ray proceeded to stick Bluebird's card into her wrist dealer, causing the card to be shuffled into her deck.

"Hmph, so? What could you hope to accomplish with a meager hand and empty field?" No. 9 taunted.

"I can accomplish this!" Ray declared, placing the drawn card on her duel disk. "I summon **Enchantress of the Migrating Origin**!"

Another witch, this time with green hair and blue-white robes appeared onto the field, wielding a similar staff as Sorceress. She looked at No.9 and gave him a sly wink, before gently reclining in the air as she levitated.

 **Enchantress of the Migrating Origin/WIND/Level 4/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1300**

"Another Tuner monster…" No.9 muttered.

"You shouldn't worry about that could mean." Ray admonished. "I activate Enchantress' effect! The instant I summon her, I get to add a new 'Migrating Origin' monster to my hand! I pick Sorceress!"

"That card again?!" No. 9 asked.

"Yes, that card again." Ray replied.

"Hmph, you've already used up this turn's Normal Summon. Your paltry stall tactics-" No. 9 said

"Oh, I'm not stalling No. 9." Ray interrupted. "I'm making my comeback! Enchantress has a second effect! Once per turn, I can shuffle a 'Migrating Origin' card from my deck so that I can Normal Summon again!"

"What?!" No. 9 asked, as if the idea of his opponent's decks having comeback capability was a foreign concept to him.

"I shuffle Sign of the Migrating Origin back into my deck, and Normal Summon Sorceress!" Ray declared.

Enchantress rose her staff into the air, swinging it so as to produce a mournful bell toll. The Quick-Play Spell Card materialized, before being shuffled back into Ray's deck, causing a mint-colored aura to manifest in Ray's hand. Wordlessly, Ray picked up Sorceress' card, and gently placed her on the duel disk, allowing Sorceress to return to the field.

 **Sorceress of the Migrating Origin/WIND/Level 3/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000**

"Sorceress allows me to add a new 'Migrating Origin' card to my hand if I shuffled a different 'Migrating Origin card this turn! I'm adding **Form of the Migrating Origin**!" Ray explained.

"Hmph, I don't know how that card will help you with a Synchro Summon." No. 9 scoffed. "Both of your monsters are Tuners, so…"

"Who said I was going to Synchro Summon?" Ray asked coyly.

"Here it comes!" Zarc cheered. "GO RAY!"

"Indeed." Leo said calmly, keeping a watchful eye on the silver-haired youth before re-focusing his attention towards his daughter's comeback.

"I activate Form of the Migrating Origin! Now, I can perform a Fusion Summon using my monsters as materials!" Ray chirped.

"Fusion?! Not Synchro?" No. 9 asked, dumbfounded.

"What? You thought I was just going to Synchro Summon? I thought you knew about complicated moves and strategy. Surely you couldn't have thought that just because I had Tuner Monsters I'd default to a Synchro Summon." Ray taunted, using No. 9's words against him.

No. 9 stewed as a red-and-blue portal filled with orange swirls appeared behind Ray.

" _Witch of the morning bell, magician of the calling toll! Resonate together in the loud discord, and let loose a resounding echo! FUSION SUMMON! Come forth, Level 7,_ _ **Amazon of the Migrating Origin**_ _!"_

Ray's new monster jumped from the Fusion portal, swinging a massive curved blade. The monster looked somewhat similar to Huntress, but had much more muscle and was rather stocky, wearing rather revealing clothing and having more noticeable cat-like features, particularly the claws of her hands and feet. Her skin was also a light shade of brown. Her hair was mainly white with a blue tint, and her eyes were silted like a cat's. Amazon gave her sword several test swings, and looked at No. 9's forces, bearing her fangs and hissing at them.

 **Amazon of the Migrating Origin/DARK/Level 7/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000**

"That monster doesn't scare me in the slightest!" No. 9 said haughtily.

"Oh, she will soon." Ray replied menacingly. "I activate Amazon's effect! The instant she's Fusion Summoned, I shuffle up to 3 'Migrating Origin' cards from my graveyard into my deck, and then shuffle the same number of cards from your field!"

No. 9's eyes widened behind his visor. "NO!"

"I shuffle Enchantress, Sorceress, and Treasure from my graveyard into my deck, and with that, I can now shuffle Lagos the Small Soldier, Evocator Chevalier, and Sequince Knight Commander into your deck! Or, in the case of Lagos and Commander, return them to your Extra Deck!" Ray declared. "Get them, Amazon! Wild Tornado!"

Amazon rose her sword into the air as three orbs of green light entered the blade. She then rose the blade, and swung it at No. 9's field, creating a massive tornado that swept up No. 9's monsters. Lagos, Chevalier, and Commander screamed in panic for a moment as they were blown around by the vortex, before reverting to card form.

No. 9 growled as his cards were shuffled into his deck.

"Because Lagos is no longer on the field, the Small Counter on Sequince Knight Errant no longer has any power." He grumbled. "That being said, even if he is not present on the field, Sequince Knight Errant still has the effect he gained from Commander! In addition, since my Sequince Knight Equip Spells were sent to the graveyard, I can draw two new cards!"

"That won't really matter once I attack him!" Ray countered. "Amazon gains 200 ATK for each monster I returned, so since a total of six cards were shuffled, that's 1200 ATK for her!"

The aura from Amazon's sword spread to her body, as she crouched in a combat stance.

 **Amazon of the Migrating Origin/ATK: 3600**

"Attack his Sequince Knight Errant!" Ray commanded. "Forested Strike!"

Amazon dashed at Sequince Knight Errant, and rose her sword. Errant attempted to parry with his own blade, only for Amazon to decapitate his horse, catching the knight off-guard. The last thing he saw were Amazon's thick legs before he was sliced in half by her sword.

"Damn it!" No. 9 cursed.

 **No. 9 LP: 2200**

"Fun fact, that's the same amount of damage I took when you first damaged me. Consider that payback!" Ray said, pumping her fist triumphantly. "Oh! BTW, thanks to Amazon's effect, your monster gets shuffled into your deck instead of going to the graveyard."

No. 9 growled as he shuffled his monster back into his deck.

"YES! GO RAY!" Zarc cheered.

"I knew she had it in her!" Aiyo clapped.

"Aw yeah!" Shogeki said.

"That's my girl." Leo smiled.

"You all do realized that the duel's not over yet, right? Celebrate when Ray actually wins." Maho pointed out.

All four blinked at Maho, then realized that No. 9 still had the means of making a counterattack. They looked back at the duel sheepishly and wordlessly.

The announcer, however…

"Incredible! Ray Akaba has managed to turn the tables back in her favor! In just one move, almost all of No. 9's impressive array of knights has fallen to an Amazonian beauty!"

"I'm not done with my turn yet!" Ray said. "I activate 1 more Spell Card, **Falling Star of the Migrating Origin**! Since I don't have any 'Migrating Origin' monsters in my graveyard, I can return 1 of your cards to your deck and then draw 1 card! And since there's only 1 card left…"

No. 9 was helpless as a large meteor impacted his set Gemini Soldier, converting the little warrior into his card form that was shuffled into the deck.

Ray drew her card, studied it quietly, and then set it on the field. "I place one card face-down. Turn End. With that, Amazon's ATK returns to normal."

 **Amazon of the Migrating Origin/ATK: 2400**

"I draw." No. 9 grumbled sullenly before turning his card over, upon which a confident smirk came over his face. "I'll give you credit for pulling a move like that ma'am…but if you think I'm going to let something like that slide, then you're solely mistaken!"

"I Summon Black Sequince Knight!"

A solitary knight in black, weathered armor hopped onto the field, wielding a worn-down ebon blade that was chipped in numerous places. Ray noticed that the monster's armor seemed to be a black version of Errant's.

 **Black Sequince Knight/DARK/Level 4/Warrior/Gemini/Effect/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1800**

"Now, I activate a second copy of Arms Regeneration!" No. 9 declared, activating the spell card.

" _Of course, he would have a second copy."_ Ray thought to herself.

"Via the effect of Arms Regeneration, I will equip Supervise to Black Sequince Knight, granting him his effect!" No. 9 said.

Flames burst around Black Sequince Knight, but faded just as quickly as they appeared. Once they dissipated, Black Sequince Knight's armor looked completely new, spotting a sharp shade of black. His sword was polished and refurbished, and overall, he bore a more confident stance.

"Next!" No. 9 declared. "I will activate Black Sequince Knight's effect, which allows me to take an Equip Spell Card in the graveyard and equip it to him! I choose to equip Sequince Knight Sword! Since Black Sequince Knight is currently an effect monster, that means that he will gain the additional benefits from wielding Sequince Knight Sword!"

Knight's black sword was sheathed, and the blade that Commander had once wielded materialized in his hand.

 **Black Sequince Knight/ATK: 2500**

"But wait, there's more!" No. 9 said. "Once per turn, if Black Sequince Knight has been equipped with a 'Sequince Knight' Equip Spell, then I can destroy one of your cards! Say good-bye to your monster! Dark Stabbing!"

Black Sequince Knight jumped at Amazon, unleashing a flurry of stabs. Amazon cried out in pain, before fading away.

"Now I can finish you off!" No. 9 said. "GO! Black Sequince Knight, attack her directly!"

Black Sequince Knight rose his sword, and dashed at Ray with the intent of finishing her off, but…

"I activate my Trap Card, **Barrier of the Migrating Origin!** " Ray countered. "I return 1 'Migrating Origin' monster from my graveyard to my deck, or Extra Deck, in this case, to reduce all instances of damage I take this turn by that monster's DEF! So, by returning Amazon to my Extra Deck, every time I would take damage from this point onwards, that damage is reduced by 2000!"

Large streams of yellow energy emerged from the trap card, forming a shield to block the attack, with the phantasmal image of Amazon appearing briefly to power the barrier. Black Sequince Knight slashed at Ray, but found the force of his strike impeded by the force-field Ray's trap card had created.

 **Ray LP: 700**

"Victory will be mine woman." No. 9 growled, looking at his hand. "I set 1 card face-down and end my turn."

"My turn!" Ray began, but No. 9, just like before, cut her off.

"It is at this moment that I activate the Trap Card, **Dual Warrior Switch**! This card allows me to return a Warrior-Type Gemini Monster to my hand, and then Special Summon another one from my hand! Not only that, but any Equip Spells equipped to the monster I switched out will be returned from my graveyard and equipped to that monster!"

"Oh my! It seems that No. 9 is going for the big guns now!" Ichiro called.

"I return Black Sequince Knight to my hand, and replace him with Phoenix Gearfried!" No. 9 declared.

"Phoenix Gearfied?!" Ray asked in shock.

"Not that card!" Zarc cried out in horror.

Black Sequince Knight jumped from the field to his owner's hand, and No. 9 slammed his final card onto his duel disk. Phoenix Gearfried was an imposing monster, wearing thick red-and-white armor, a large shield, and a black sword. He kept his sword pinned to the ground, eyeing Ray stoically, awaiting whatever offense she had in store for him.

Phoenix Gearfried/FIRE/Level 8/Warrior/Gemini/Effect/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2200

"Now, the effects of Supervise and Sequince Knight Sword activate! I resurrect Knight Day Grepher and draw 1 card!" No. 9 explained.

The muscular warrior in pink armor appeared onto the field once again, acknowledging the commanding presence of Pheonix Gearfried.

Knight Day Grepher/LIGHT/Level 4/Warrior/Gemini/Effect/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1600

No. 9 drew his card, and grinned once he saw it.

" _Finally,"_ He thought. _"_ _ **Sequince Knight Grounds**_ _. Once I play this card, she's toast."_

No. 9 added the field spell to his hand. "Now, Phoenix Gearfried is equipped with Supervise and Sequince Knight Sword!"

Phoenix Gearfried was covered in an aura of fire from Supervise, only for the flames to remain on his person and become more powerful, while his normal sword was replaced by the sword for the Sequince Knights.

Pheonix Gearfried/ATK: 3600

"Now, what will you do, with only one card?" No. 9 taunted.

Ray's eyes were hidden due to her goggles, and she remained silent. The increasing noise of the arena seemed to die down at this taunt, and the arena was quiet, even Ichiro's voice could not be heard.

"Well…" Ray said, quietly at first…only to return to normal volume as a confident smile grew on her face. "I don't plan on only having one card! I activate the other effect of Form of the Migrating Origin! This card can return to my deck during my Standby Phase and allows me to draw another card!"

"WHAT?!" No. 9 roared in annoyance.

"Yes! She's not out of the game yet!" Zarc cheered.

Ray shuffled the card into her deck, and behind her goggles, closed her eyes.

" _I need that card to come to me…please."_ She thought to herself, and then, began to hear a voice in her head, humming contently.

And once Ray heard that voice, a calm, serene smile came over her face.

"I draw!" she said, pulling the card with a flourish.

"What card has Ray drawn that can defeat Phoenix Gearfried?!" Ichiro bellowed in wonder.

"You might remember this card, I summon Diva of the Migrating Origin!" Ray declared, summoning the very monster that had begun the duel.

Diva appeared onto the field, singing quietly as if she had never left in the first place.

 **Diva of the Migrating Origin/LIGHT/Level 4/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1200**

"That monster again…" No. 9 muttered. "No matter! It's ATK is nowhere near enough to destroy Phoenix Gearfried or Knight Day Grepher!"

"Maybe…" Ray mused. "But she still has her effect! I can shuffle her from my field into my deck, and you remember what happens when I shuffle her into my deck, don't you?"

No. 9's eyes widened from behind his visor.

"NO!" he cried out.

"I summon, via her effect, Sorceress of the Migrating Origin!" Ray declared.

Once again, the pink-haired druid appeared onto the field, smiling calmly at No. 9, but to him, the smile seemed condescending.

 **Sorceress of the Migrating Origin/WIND/Level 3/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000**

"And since I shuffled a 'Migrating Origin' card, I get to add a different one from my deck! I pick Comprimario of the Migrating Origin!" Ray explained.

"This move again?!" No. 9 barked indignantly. "Rrgh, no matter! Even if you use that card, the most you'll get is 2200 ATK, that's only about 500 points higher than Grepher, and nowhere near Phoenix Gearfried! You've lost woman!"

Ray's eyes twitched behind her goggles, as her patience with No. 9's rude behavior was stretched thin.

"You know, you really need an attitude adjustment mister, and I think I'm going to provide it to you." She said.

Zarc shivered from Ray's words, remembering some of his own experiences.

"Ohhh, he's gonna get it now." Shogeki chuckled.

"Beat him Ray." Leo nodded.

"I still have another card in my hand, and by targeting my Sorceress, I can play her! By targeting a 'Migrating Origin' monster on my field or graveyard, this monster can be Special Summoned! Come out, **Songbird of the Migrating Origin**!" Ray explained.

Another young harpie appeared on the field, this one having place brown feathers in place of Bluebird's well…blue. That being said, the harpie in question had several markings on her face, which seemed to shift in the arena's light.

 **Songbird of the Migrating Origin/WIND/Level 1/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 100**

"When Songbird is summoned via her effect, her level becomes equal to that of the targeted monster! So, her level changes to match that of Sorceress!" Ray declared.

The markings on Songbird's face changed, now becoming a set of three hexagrams that remained on her forehead.

 **Songbird of the Migrating Origin/Level 3**

"Remember when you questioned about me Synchro Summoning?" Ray asked. "Well, now you'll get it! I tune my Level 3 Songbird with my Level 3 Sorceress!"

Sorceress turned into three green rings and surrounded Songbird, whose body dissolved and became three shining orbs that were arranged into a line along with the rings. A column of light burst from the formation, and Ray began the summon chant.

" _Fairy who challenges the status quo, break your pact of silence and sing your new melody! SYNCHRO SUMMON! Come out! Level 6,_ _ **Valkyrie of the Migrating Origin**_ _!"_

Ray's new monster was a tall, imposing woman, with white angel wings wielding a spear. Her hair was as white as snow and her eyes glowed sternly. Her armor was a rose color, with blue cloth streaming from her body, and she bellowed a powerful tune as she took to the skies of the arena, brandishing her pitch-black weapon at Phoenix Gearfried.

 **Valkyrie of the Migrating Origin/LIGHT/Level 6/Fairy/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 2200/DEF: 1900**

"I-it only has 2200 ATK!" No. 9 blurted. "And that's only enough to run over Knight Day Grepher! And even if you boost her ATK with that Comprimario card, you'll only be able to inflict 1700 damage to me at most! I will defeat you on my next turn!"

"You're not getting a next turn!" Ray snapped. "When Valkyrie is Synchro Summoned, I can shuffle 1 of your cards into your deck!"

Realization struck No. 9 as he looked at Phoenix Gearfried.

"NO!" He cried.

"I return Phoenix Gearfried! Song of Light!" Ray declared.

Valkyrie let loose a deep song, rich in tone, and high-pitched. She directed her music towards the flaming warrior, who then screamed as a pillar of light consumed his body and threw his card back into his owner's deck.

"This isn't over!" No. 9 barked desperately. "I may not be able to revive any monsters with Supervise, but I can still draw a card thanks to my Sword!"

No. 9 tore a card from his deck…and looked at Sequince Knight Errant, ever so reliable.

"HA!" No. 9 laughed. "Now it's official, when my next turn comes, you're done for!"

"Is that so?" Ray asked rhetorically.

"What? What else can you do?" No. 9 sneered…before Valkyrie let loose a second melody, blasting the body suited duelist back with a wave of sound.

"AGH!" No. 9 cried from shock.

 **No. 9 LP: 1700**

"Valkyrie, once per turn, inflicts 500 damage to my opponent whenever a number of cards get shuffled into the deck." Ray explained.

No. 9 gaped in horror as he realized the situation before him. Knight Day Grepher was in Attack position…and Ray had retrieved the hand-trap that had enabled her to avoid defeat on No. 9's first turn.

"NO! NO!" No. 9 gasped.

"And No. 9 gives us a complimentary wail of defeat! He must be enjoying giving this to the crowds!" Ichiro roared.

"Is he saying that ironically, or does he mean it?" Zarc asked Aiyo.

"I have no idea." Aiyo deadpanned.

"This duel is over! Valkyrie, attack Knight Day Grepher! Dramatic charge!" Ray commanded.

Valkyrie swooped down towards Knight Day Grepher, who brought up his sword in defiance.

"And now, I discard Comprimario of the Migrating Origin, shuffling a 'Migrating Origin' monster from my Graveyard into my deck in order to give Valkyrie that monster's ATK and DEF! I shuffle Comprimario herself, giving Valkyrie 1200 ATK!"

 **Valkyrie of the Migrating Origin/ATK: 3400**

"NOOO!" No. 9 moaned as Valkyrie impaled Knight Day Grepher with her spear. Unlike his owner, Knight Day Grepher stoically accepted his defeat, and crumbled into dust.

 **No. 9 LP: 0**

 **WINNER: RAY AKABA**

"THE WINNER, IS RAY AKABA!" Ichiro cheered.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Zarc cheered enthusiastically.

"Well done, Ray!" Leo clapped.

"WHOO!" Shogeki bellowed.

"Nice going girl!" Aiyo smiled.

"WHOOP! WHOOP!" Maho cheered. "See? Feels better to cheer once she's won."

"Just keep up the victory holler." Aiyo whispered.

Ray took her goggles and winked at her friends and father, before giving said wink to the rest of the audience, who gave the cheers one would normally expect from a victory.

No. 9 on the other hand, stomped out of the arena…but not without some choice words.

"Listen here Akaba." No. 9 growled, causing Ray to look back at him.

"You may have defeated me here today, but the next time we duel, I WILL defeat you."

"You can try." Ray smirked.

"BAH!" No. 9 muttered, leaving the arena.

Ray shrugged, and left the arena herself, waving to the crowds and returning to the commons area. When she did so, she found her friends and father were already there to meet her.

"That was an excellent duel, Ray." Leo said, smiling warmly.

"Heh, heh…thanks dad." Ray shrugged sheepishly.

"Good thing you beat that guy too, he was an asshole." Aiyo chimed in.

"You were awesome out there!" Zarc squealed.

Ray smiled, rushed over to Zarc, and hugged him tightly. "I know!"

"Ray…Zarc…what are you two doing?" Leo growled.

It was then that Zarc realized that Ray had performed an action that wasn't exactly approved of in the presence of the Professor, and he hurriedly pushed himself out of the hug. "AHHH! I-I'M SORRY SIR! I-It won't-" Zarc stammered, only for Shogeki to grab his arms.

"You see, that's what I'm talking about." He said, shaking his head. "C'mon Zarc, it's time to make a man out of you."

"I'M ALREADY A GUY!" Zarc cried out.

"Maho's a girl, and she's more manly than you are." Shogeki deadpanned.

"And thus, we tune in onto Idiot Central." Maho said, rolling her eyes as Shogeki dragged Zarc away to start their match.

"In either case," Leo said, turning to Ray, who was fuming over her time with Zarc being cut shut. "I have to thank you Ray, for today's match. I think I finally have an idea of what to do with our company's next application."

"Sure." Ray said grumpily, folding her arms and puffing her cheeks.

"Come now, it's an idea I think you'll like!" Leo tried to explain as Ray walked away.

"The overprotective dad...I feel sorry for Ray." Maho commented.

"He's better than my dad...seriously, you would not believe how many pet names he and my mom made for each other!" Aiyo said, sticking out her tongue.

"Eh." Maho said, following Ray and Leo back to the arena's seating area.

* * *

Outside of the arena, it was a beautiful day. One would think that nothing could spoil it. But it was a crying shame, because deep down on the lower Laputa Modules of Crescent City, there was something that did spoil such a lovely day. One would think that a modern-day metropolis like Crescent City would be free of problems such as poverty in the year 2054…but sadly, it still existed, as proven by a lonely beggar who shuffled in an alleyway.

The man wore a hat over his eyes, so he couldn't see where he was going, and he then bumped into someone who was turning a corner. The impact knocked the beggar to the ground, and causing the person he'd run into to drop a set of cards he was carrying.

"Gah!" The beggar cried out, pulling his hat up to see whom he'd run into.

The person he'd impacted wore a dark cloak, which seemed to blend into the shadows of the alleyways. The beggar could not see most of the other person's face, aside from an annoyed grimace and glimpsing markings that looked almost like snake scales.

"Watch where you're going!" The beggar grumbled, looking down at what the other person had dropped.

The beggar saw that the man had dropped Duel Monster cards…but unusually enough, the cards that had fallen face-up had no names. They were colored yellow, the border for Normal Monsters…and all had the picture of a person screaming in agony amidst a dark purple mist.

"What the heck kind of cards are those?" the beggar asked…his last words.

Before he could realize anything else, the beggar's eyes were filled with a strange purple light, and the alleyway shone with the menacing color. But just as quickly as the light appeared, it dissipated, and the hooded person bent down to pick up the cards he'd dropped. After counting them, the person placed them underneath his cloak, and then looked at the new card he'd added to his collection.

"I should burn this one…no one would miss it…but…getting rid of it might not be a good idea either…I'll see what they think about it." He murmured.

The card was bordered yellow, and had no name…and for its picture, showed the surprised beggar, having not recognized in time what had happened to him.

The man sighed, and walked down the alleyway to continue his mission.

* * *

 **Author-Made/Modified Cards:**

 **Monsters:**

 _ **Diva of the Migrating Origin/LIGHT/Level 4/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1200**_

 _ **Return any monsters that this card destroys in battle to the deck instead of sending them to the GY. Once per turn, you can shuffle this card you control into the deck. If this card you control or in your GY is returned to the deck, Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Migrating Origin" monster from your deck, except for "Diva of the Migrating Origin".**_

 _ **Huntress of the Migrating Origin/DARK/Level 4/Beast-Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1200**_

 _ **Return any monsters that this card destroys in battle to the deck instead of sending them to the GY. If this monster is Special Summoned from the deck, until the End Phase of the turn it was Special Summoned, double its ATK. If this card would be used in the Fusion Summon of a "Migrating Origin" monster, shuffle it into your deck and send 1 "Migrating Origin" monster, except for "Huntress of the Migrating Origin" from your deck to the GY.**_

 ** _Sequince Knight Errant/EARTH/Level 4/Warrior/Gemini/Effect/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1700_**

 ** _This card is treated as a Normal Monster while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard. While this card is a Normal Monster on the field, you can Normal Summon it to have it become an Effect Monster with the following effect:_**

 ** _Once per turn, you can send 1 Equip Spell Card and 1 Warrior Gemini Monster from your deck to your GY. If a "Sequince Knight" card(s) was among the sent cards, add those "Sequince Knight" cards from your GY to your hand._**

 _ **Sorceress of the Migrating Origin/WIND/Level 3/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000**_

 ** _Return any monsters that this card destroys in battle to the deck instead of sending them to the GY. During the turn this monster was Normal or Special Summoned, if a "Migrating Origin" card was returned to your deck, add 1 "Migrating Origin" card with a different name than the returned card from your deck to your hand. During either player's turn, you can shuffle this card from your GY into your deck._**

 _ **Bluebird of the Migrating Origin/WIND/Level 1/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 0**_

 ** _Return any monsters that this card destroys in battle to the deck instead of sending them to the GY. Once per turn, during either player's turn, if an attack is declared, target 1 "Migrating Origin" monster in your GY, shuffle it into the deck and then Special Summon this card from your hand in Defense Position. This card cannot be destroyed in battle._**

 _ **Sequince Knight Squire/EARTH/Level 2/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 800/DEF: 800**_

 ** _You can Special Summon this card from your hand by destroying 1 Equip Spell Card you control. If the destroyed card was equipped to a Gemini Monster, you can shuffle that card into your deck, but if the destroyed card was equipped to a "Sequince Knight" monster, add that card to your hand instead. If this card you control is sent to the GY, Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Sequince Knight" monster from your deck._**

 _ **Black Sequince Knight/DARK/Level 4/Warrior/Gemini/Effect/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1800**_

 ** _This card is treated as a Normal Monster while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard. While this card is a Normal Monster on the field, you can Normal Summon it to have it become an Effect Monster with the following effect:_**

 ** _Once per turn, you can target 1 Equip Spell Card in your GY, equip that target to this card. Once per turn, if this card is equipped with a "Sequince Knight" Equip card, target 1 card your opponent controls, destroy it._**

 _ **Sequince Knight Commander/EARTH/Rank 4/Warrior/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000**_

 ** _2 Level 4 Warrior Gemini Monsters_**

 ** _Once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, inflict damage to your opponent equal to half of the ATK of the detached Xyz Material, but if the detached Xyz Material was a "Sequince Knight" monster, then inflict damage equal to the detached monster's ATK or DEF, your choice. Once per turn, you can target 1 Warrior Gemini Monster you control, it is treated as an Effect monster and gains its effects as long as this card remains face-up on the field. As long as you control another face-up "Sequince Knight" monster, this card cannot be targeted for an attack._**

 ** _Comprimario of the Migrating Origin/LIGHT/Level 3/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1200_**

 ** _Return any monsters that this card destroys in battle to the deck instead of sending them to the GY. During the Damage Step, when a "Migrating Origin" monster you control battles (Quick Effect), you can send this card from your hand to the GY, then target 1 "Migrating Origin" monster in your GY, shuffle it into the deck, and then increase the ATK and DEF of the battling "Migrating Origin" monster by the corresponding ATK and DEF of the shuffled monster._**

 _ **Lagos the Small Soldier/DARK/Rank 2/Beast-Warrior/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 1400/DEF: 800**_

 ** _2 Level 2 Warrior and/or Beast-Warrior Monsters_**

 ** _This card face-up on the field and in your GY is also treated as a Warrior Monster. Once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, place 1 Small Counter on all Warrior and Beast-Warrior monsters you control. If a monster with a Small Counter would be destroyed, you can remove that Counter instead and inflict 200 damage to your opponent. This card gains 200 ATK for each Small Counter on the field. Any damage you would take from a battle involving this card is reduced to zero._**

 _ **Enchantress of the Migrating Origin/WIND/Level 4/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1300**_

 ** _Return any monsters that this card destroys in battle to the deck instead of sending them to the GY. If this monster is Normal or Special Summoned, add 1 "Migrating Origin" monster from your deck to your hand. Once per turn, you can shuffle 1 "Migrating Origin" card from your GY into your deck, then you can Normal Summon 1 "Migrating Origin" monster in addition to your Normal Summon/Set this turn. During the turn you activate this effect, you cannot summon monsters, except for "Migrating Origin" monsters._**

 _ **Amazon of the Migrating Origin/DARK/Level 7/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000**_

 _ **2 "Migrating Origin" monsters with the same Attribute**_

 _ **Return any monsters that this card destroys in battle to the deck instead of sending them to the GY. If this monster is Fusion Summoned, you can target up to 3 "Migrating Origin" cards in your GY, along with an equal number of cards your opponent controls. Shuffle those targets to their respective decks (Including the Extra Deck) and then this card gains 200 ATK for each until the End Phase.**_

 _ **Songbird of the Migrating Origin/WIND/Level 1/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 100**_

 ** _Return any monsters that this card destroys in battle to the deck instead of sending them to the GY. Once per turn, you can target 1 "Migrating Origin" monster you control or is in your GY, Special Summon this card from your hand and make this card's Level equal to that of the targeted monster; also during the End Phase of the turn you activated this effect, shuffle the returned monster into your deck._**

 _ **Valkyrie of the Migrating Origin/LIGHT/Level 6/Fairy/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 2200/DEF: 1900**_

 ** _1 "Migrating Origin" Tuner monster + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters_**

 ** _Return any monsters that this card destroys in battle to the deck instead of sending them to the GY. If this card is Synchro Summoned, shuffle 1 card your opponent controls into their Deck or Extra Deck. Once per turn, if a card(s) is shuffled into the deck, inflict 500 damage to your opponent for each._**

 **Spells:**

 ** _Sign of the Migrating Origin/Quick-Play Spell_**

 _ **Shuffle 1 "Migrating Origin" monster you control or is in your GY into your deck. Special Summon 1 "Migrating Origin" monster with a different name and Level that is equal to or less than that of the shuffled monster in face-up Defense Position. You can only activate 1 "Sign of the Migrating Origin" once per turn.**_

 _ **Arms Regeneration/Normal Spell**_

 ** _Target 1 monster on either player's side of the field, and then target 1 Equip Spell Card in either player's GY. Equip the targeted monster with the targeted Equip Spell Card. You can only activate 1 "Arms Regeneration" once per turn._** _(This card originally appeared in the R and 5Ds Mangas, with the effect being modified for proper formatting)_

 ** _Sequince Knight Lance_**

 ** _Equip only to a Warrior Gemini Monster or "Sequince Knight" monster. If the equipped monster is not treated as an Effect Monster, then treat it as such and it gains its effects. If the equipped monster is an Effect monster, then apply the following effect:_**

 ** _The equipped monster gains 500 ATK and if it battles a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent._**

 ** _If this card equipped to a "Sequince Knight" monster is sent to the GY, draw 1 card. A monster can only be equipped with 1 "Sequince Knight" Equip Spell Card at a time._**

 ** _Sequince Knight Sword_**

 ** _Equip only to a Warrior Gemini Monster or "Sequince Knight" monster. If the equipped monster is not treated as an Effect Monster, then treat it as such and it gains its effects. If the equipped monster is an Effect monster, then apply the following effect:_**

 ** _The equipped monster gains 800 ATK, also if it destroys a monster in battle, it may attack again in a row._**

 ** _If this card equipped to a "Sequince Knight" monster is sent to the GY, draw 1 card. A monster can only be equipped with 1 "Sequince Knight" Equip Spell Card at a time._**

 ** _Sequince Knight Shield_**

 ** _Equip only to a Warrior Gemini Monster or "Sequince Knight" monster. If the equipped monster is not treated as an Effect Monster, then treat it as such and it gains its effects. If the equipped monster is an Effect monster, then apply the following effect:_**

 ** _If the equipped monster would be destroyed, destroy this card instead and destroy 1 card your opponent controls._**

 ** _If this card equipped to a "Sequince Knight" monster is sent to the GY, draw 1 card. A monster can only be equipped with 1 "Sequince Knight" Equip Spell Card at a time._**

 ** _Treasure of the Migrating Origin/Normal Spell_**

 _ **Shuffle 1 "Migrating Origin" monster from your GY into your deck, then draw 2 cards. You can only activate 1 "Treasure of the Migrating Origin" once per turn.**_

 ** _Form of the Migrating Origin/Normal Spell_**

 _ **Fusion Summon 1 "Migrating Origin" monster from your Extra Deck, sending monsters from your hand or field to the GY as Fusion Materials OR shuffle monsters from your GY or field into your deck as Fusion Materials. During your Standby Phase, you can shuffle this card from your GY into your deck and then draw 1 card.**_

 ** _Falling Star of the Migrating Origin/Normal Spell_**

 _ **Activate only if there are no "Migrating Origin" monsters in your GY. Target 1 card your opponent controls and return that target to the deck and then draw 1 card.**_

 _ **Sequince Knight Grounds/Field Spell**_

 ** _During your Draw Phase, if you drew a Warrior Gemini monster, you can reveal that card to your opponent and then draw an additional card. Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can Normal Summon 1 Gemini monster in addition to your Normal Summon/Set. If you Normal Summon a "Sequince Knight" monster via this effect however, during this turn, you can Normal Summon 1 Warrior monster in addition to your Normal Summon/Set. Once per turn, if your opponent would activate an effect that would destroy an Equip Spell Card that is equipped to a Warrior Gemini monster, negate the activation of that effect and destroy it._**

 **Traps:**

 _ **Barrier of the Migrating Origin/Normal Trap/**_ ** _Shuffle 1 "Migrating Origin" monster in your GY into your deck or Extra Deck. Each time your would take damage this turn, reduce that damage by the DEF of the shuffled monster. You can only activate 1 "Barrier of the Migrating Origin" per turn. If this set card would be destroyed by an opponent's card effect, shuffle it into your deck instead and draw 1 card._**

 ** _Dual Warrior Swap/Normal Trap/Return 1 Warrior Gemini monster from your field to your hand, then Special Summon 1 Warrior Gemini Monster from your hand. Then, if the returned monster had any Equip Cards equipped to it and those cards are in your GY, equip those cards to the Special Summoned monster. During your Standby Phase, you can banish this card from your GY, this turn, you can Normal Summon a Level 5 or higher Warrior Gemini Monster without tributing._**

* * *

 **So this is what life in the Original Dimension is like! Tournaments, overprotective dads, and a conspiracy in the background that isn't ominous whatsoever!**

 **HAHAHA!**

 **What'd you all think of the chapter? Let me know in your reviews! Ja ne!**

 **-Epsilon Tarantula**


	3. Ordeal of the Dragon

**Oh lord...IT DIDN'T TAKE ME HALF OF A YEAR TO UPDATE! WOO-HOO!**

 **Ah...the glory of the semester break...shame it won't last forever. Hello everyone! I am back, and faster than ever! I'll tell you, this chapter proved a challenge to write, partly because what was meant to be slice-of-life ended up serving as character background instead, and the duel got...tedious at times. The holidays, as it turns out, are horrible when it comes to productivity. But I've persevered, and lo and behold, we get this!**

 **Fair warning, some parts of this chapter, may, surprise you. In more ways than one.**

 **Disclaimer is on the first page! Enjoy the chapter everyone!**

* * *

 _Omen of Uncertainty_

Act I – Scene 2: Ordeal of the Dragon

 _It is said that, as you progress through your romantic relationship with someone, that there are different levels that you have to progress through. Some call these levels 'Tiers' and others call them 'Bases'. But there is that one moment that you have to prepare for, the inevitable. Oftentimes, this level, tier, or base, however you call it, is rather critical. With the tiers, it is tier fifteen, and with the bases, it is second base._

 _That step has numerous euphemisms to its name…so Ray found it meaningless to beat around the bush and get down to it._

 _Finally, the moment she was waiting for with Zarc was coming to pass. They'd been in a relationship for quite a while now…and both were about to embark on a rather nerve-wracking moment. But deep down, Ray wanted Zarc, she wanted him so badly…and she was finally going to get it with him. She was lying on her bed with Zarc, neither one wearing a single article of clothing. Protection was there of course…Zarc was an idiot, but even HE wasn't that stupid (It helped that for once, his nervousness regarding this topic actually made him focus on the repercussions that could turn their sweet act into something that they might regret for the rest of their lives)._

" _Zarc…" Ray whispered into his ear. This was it, they were finally going to do it._

" _Yes, Ray?" Zarc asked quietly._

" _Please…I…" Ray began, only for a terrible light to enter her room and a booming voice to resound._

" _STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!" The voice of Leo Akaba roared._

 _Both Zarc and Ray got up from the bed, to witness Leo Akaba dressed in…martial arts clothing? Not only that, but his short hair had somewhat increased in length exponentially and spiked more than Zarc's. Not to mention it had turned gold. A stern look was plastered on Leo's face as he narrowed his eyes at Zarc._

" _SHE'LL NEVER MARRY!" Leo cried, rushing towards Zarc, grabbing the dragon duelist and throwing him into the air. Leo jumped into the air, bringing his leg back, before kicking upwards, smashing Zarc right in the-_

* * *

"Okay!" Maho cried out, clapping her hands together. "I think we get the picture Ray."

After Leo had disrupted Ray's hug with Zarc, the auburn-haired teen had stalked into the women's bathroom. Sensing that something was wrong, both Aiyo and Maho slipped in as well, and were then stuck listening to Ray's, frustrations, for lack of a better term. It seemed that her annoyance with her father's interference in her romantic life was reaching a boiling point, especially considering how he was now somehow able to disrupt Ray's erotic dreams.

"…Yeesh, I knew Leo was overprotective…but I didn't think it could get this bad." Aiyo said.

"I don't get his problem!" Ray complained. "Zarc's not some kind of evil monster or rapist! He's not even what you'd call a 'bad boy'!"

"Except for his name." Maho commented. "Why would someone name him Zarc? Why not Ryuki or Yujin? Those actually sound like names."

"That's not helping, Maho!" Ray griped.

"What? Zarc likes dragons, why wouldn't those be appropriate names?" Maho asked.

"That's not the point Maho." Aiyo chastised. "The problem is that thanks to Leo Akaba, Ray's love life is becoming stunted. Fun fact! That's one of the few times my mom actually resorts to physical violence!"

"But your mom isn't here, so we have to solve the problem ourselves." Maho deadpanned.

"Exactly!" Ray said. "I'm getting really tired of this! I've known Zarc since we were little, so why is Dad so suspicious of him?"

"Maybe it's because he said he could speak to Duel Monster cards when he was little?" Aiyo asked.

"Wh-what?" Ray spluttered. "That can't be the reason!"

"I was just spit balling." Aiyo said, holding her hands up calmly. "I don't think that's the actual reason."

"Hmm…" Maho murmured.

"Something wrong, Maho?" Aiyo asked.

"It's nothing Aiyo." Maho replied.

"Yup! Nothing!" Ray said defensively.

Maho stared at Ray for a few seconds, rolled her eyes at the very obvious deflection of the subject she'd brought up, and sighed. "Back on topic, if your dad's giving you so much trouble over Zarc, why not just move in with him?"

"It's…cheaper." Ray deflated.

"She's got a point." Aiyo said. "It's way less expensive to live in with your folks for a little while longer. And pro-dueling's lucrative, but…"

"We're not even in the big major leagues yet." Ray sighed. "The prizes aren't really something that can pay the bills."

"But the cash comes in handy." Maho said. "Maybe you could try one of those underground leagues and elope with Zarc there?"

"NO." Ray said flatly. "I've heard rumors about what they do to people in those leagues. Particularly about the shock collars they put on duelists."

"Oh yeah…I can imagine the perverts that would get off on that happening to you." Maho said thoughtfully.

"Yes, so, can we drop that idea and move on?" Ray asked hurriedly.

"Well, what else can we do?" Maho snapped.

"Simple, Ray tells her dad that she is going to officially date Zarc." Aiyo answered.

"Trust me, I want to do that." Ray sighed. "But even if I say yes, Zarc's just going to collapse in front of Dad and not even come by! It just won't work out! Zarc's too intimidated by Dad to do anything except say 'Yes sir' and leave!"

"Well…" Aiyo said, thoughts drifting.

"You've got that look in your eyes Aiyo." Maho commented.

"Shogeki's dueling Zarc soon…maybe he'll be able to knock some confidence into Zarc like he said he would, and then Zarc can tell Leo Akaba that he loves Ray and then we can put this issue to bed." Aiyo said.

"Pfft….BWAHAHA!" Maho laughed. "Zarc managing social confidence outside of a duel?! The day he manages that is the day that marks the start of Armageddon!"

Ray growled and slapped Maho on the head with her fan.

"Stop it."

"Yes ma'am." Maho said, sticking her tongue out playfully.

"Still though…I'll admit that Zarc needs more confidence…" Ray said. "I want him to stand together with me when we tell Dad. Otherwise, he'll just say that Zarc's a coward or something like that."

"Maybe you could duel Leo or have Zarc duel him?" Aiyo suggested. "It's helped out my folks before."

"Dad isn't Umimi or Tobio." Ray sighed. "I don't think he's going to accept a duel from me OR Zarc. Heck, you could have _Yugi Muto_ challenge him to a duel and he'd still decline."

"Which means our hope for this plan to work is if Zarc can find his inner courage." Maho summarized.

"Yup." Aiyo nodded.

"Well, Ray, you'd better start getting used to dates with your hands-" Maho began, only to be interrupted with another slap from Ray's fan.

* * *

In all honesty, Zarc had to say that the day had not started off terribly. He'd woken up early as he always did so that he'd make it to the Dueling Stadium early as usual, and while Ray may have nearly whacked him on the head for failing to inform her of a schedule change (And really, that was why Zarc came to the stadium early, he was terrible at memorizing dates or sudden schedule changes. Coming early just seemed to solve that problem), her duel was, in Zarc's words, amazing. Unfortunately, it seemed that his day was taking a turn for the worst as Shogeki pulled him forward against his will.

"Stop dragging me along, Shogeki! I can walk over to the arena without you helping me!" Zarc griped.

"When you can break out of my iron grip, sure." Shogeki sneered.

Zarc's left eye twitched, and he proceeded to stand up straighter, and pulled his wrists at Shogeki's fingers, breaking out of the muscular duelist's hold. Zarc then dashed a distance away from his self-proclaimed rival and stood to face him.

"So, you can break out of my grip…good." Shogeki purred like an overdramatic villain.

"You didn't have to drag me along like that." Zarc muttered.

Shogeki chuckled grimly for a few moments, before taking a deep breath and sighing, all melodrama exiting his voice. "Zarc, I'm going to ask you something, and please, answer truthfully."

"What's the question?"

"Do you love Ray?" Shogeki asked bluntly.

A deep red blush overcame Zarc's face, and he was soon sweating rivers, stammering out a reply. "Wh-what! I mean…we're friends…and…"

"Leo's not here right now, Zarc." Shogeki revealed.

Just to be sure, Zarc turned his head around, checking to make sure that Shogeki was right. He sighed in relief when that appeared to be the case.

"Y-yeah…I..I…I love her. I honestly, and really do love her." Zarc admitted. "I mean, she's the most amazing girl I've ever met in my entire life! She was my first friend…and I feel…like it's been a real privilege having known her for so long."

Shogeki smiled warmly. "Then tell that to her dad when we're done dueling."

The color then drained from Zarc's face.

"Wait…what?" Zarc asked.

"You claim that you two aren't 'together, together', but given how often you two spend time alone together, always seeming attached at the hip whenever you get the opportunity, and the very likely fact that you two have made out with each other at least once, I'd have to say that yes, you two ARE in a relationship, and just need to get over the hurdle that is Professor Leo Akaba to make it official." Shogeki answered.

"Have you seen the glares he gives me though?" Zarc asked. "If looks could kill, I'd be dead! Heck, he gives you and Maho those glares just because he thinks you taught Ray to swear!"

"People throughout history have been swearing since they were little, I don't see what the problem is there." Shogeki replied dismissively.

"NOT THE POINT!" Zarc yelled. "I mean, having Ray's father be suspicious of me…it…really hurts. It's like I'm not allowed to be near Ray, like I'm not welcome in her house or life. If I ever go near her, then I'm going to be hated just because I like her. It's…well…"

"Frustrating? Insulting? Isolating?" Shogeki offered.

"Yeah." Zarc admitted.

Shogeki sighed. "Yeah…but then again, there was that incident in Shirogane…so, maybe that's it? Leo's not really in the mood to let go of his daughter considering what happened to Ray's mom."

Zarc thought back to that day…he and Ray were not quite ten…and he remembered how much she had cried upon learning of her mother's death…one of many thousands who had died in what was now known as the Shiokane Inferno. Ray had been inconsolable…and Zarc hated how helpless he'd felt…he'd never known his parents…but he imagined that losing them was a far greater pain. He'd tried his best to help out Ray during that time…but…still.

Zarc let out his own sigh. Life was tough back then. Still was, to some degree.

"Ah well…might as well get on with our duel and see what we can do there. Good luck Zarc, you're going to need it." Shogeki taunted.

Zarc's eyes narrowed at the smug smile on Shogeki's face.

"Bring it." He said, a confident smirk on his face.

"That's it." Shogeki smirked, walking away to his side of the arena, with a plan beginning to form in his head.

* * *

"Our first duel was an exciting match!" Ichiro bellowed. "Now…let's see if the day's second match can bring equal excitement!"

"On the right side…the duelist who dragons draw an arc in the sky! ZARC!"

Zarc stepped into the arena, and looked up at Ray. He noticed that she was seated in a row below her father, with Aiyo and Maho in an upper row to separate the two and wondered why. Zarc partially withered as he saw Leo's glare at him and gulped nervously. He tried to push those thoughts out of his head. Focus on the duel. Focus on the duel. Entertain the crowds like he always strived to do.

"On the left! The unquestionable muscle of the sphinx! SHOGEKI!"

Shogeki walked into the arena, and like Zarc, took notice of the seating arrangements above. Unlike Zarc however, he had a pretty good idea of why it was so. It seemed that the girls had a plan of their own in mind. Shogeki cursed how he didn't have telepathy like some of the rumored 'Psychic Duelists'…or was that rumor just based on their ability to make the monster projections real? He shoved that question and other digressing thoughts out of his head. He had a duel to win. He was trying to help Zarc, but damn if he wasn't going to put his all into the match…but that being said…might as well see if he could solve the other problem in question.

"Which of these two will emerge victorious? We will find out now!" Ichiro roared. "3…2…1…START!"

 **DUEL!**

 **ZARC LP: 4000**

 **SHOGEKI LP: 4000**

"The first move is mine!" Shogeki declared. "Since there are no monsters on the field, I Special Summon **Sanskrisphinx**!"

A stone-faced lion hopped onto the field, decorated in feathers and Indian ornaments, like a statue that had been carefully gilded. But unlike most lions, this creature had a human face filled with sharp fangs. It did not openly bare them at Zarc, but merely gave him a stoic stare, as if it knew that its master was testing Zarc. Zarc could feel that that was the case as he looked into the man-beast's eyes.

 **Sanskrisphinx/EARTH/Level 3/Rock/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1500**

"Now, I tribute Sanskrisphinx to Advance Summon a monster in face-down Defense Position." Shogeki said.

"Face-down Defense Position?" Ichiro called out as Sanskrisphinx disappeared, only to be replaced by a card backing with a small purple-orb imp floating above it.

"So, you're already setting up your favorite tactic then?" Zarc asked.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." Shogeki shrugged. "Attack and find out. I set three cards face-down. Turn End."

"My turn, draw!" Zarc said, swiping the card from the top of his deck with a flourish.

"Hmm." Leo murmured, having pulled out a tablet and studying the duel.

"What are you doing, exactly?" Aiyo asked the Professor.

"I'm taking notes on the duel." Leo replied. "If I want my idea to be realized, I need data, and this duel is a good opportunity."

"Even with you-know-who on the field?" Maho asked nonchalantly.

"Maho!" Ray hissed.

"Despite…him being there." Leo responded dismissively. "It'd be rather foolish on my part to throw away a chance to get data. He might be useful in that regard."

Ray's left eye twitched as Leo disparaged Zarc and she was on the verge of urging a retort, until she heard Zarc's voice.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Zarc cried out to the audience. "It's time for the show to begin!"

It was then that the lights in the stadium went dark, only for a spotlight to surround Zarc as he bowed down.

"The fun is just getting started! Today, I will wake you all up with a dazzling entertainment show!" Zarc announced dramatically.

"…On second thought, maybe Leo has a point." Maho whispered to Aiyo, who responded by giving the black-haired girl a blank look.

"Kidding, just kidding!" Maho shrugged.

Back on the dueling field, Zarc pulled two cards from his hand and gestured towards the audience.

"For my first move, I will draw an arc through the sky! Via their effects, I can activate **Dragonarc Mandragora** and **Dragonarc Onlooker** as Continuous Spell Cards!" Zarc explained, inserting the cards into his duel disk.

On Zarc's field, two patterns appeared in front of him, stylized curves in the shape of an arcing dragon, each with numbers above them. Where Mandragora had been placed, there was a '2', and where Onlooker had been placed a '7'.

"So, it's coming, is it?" Shogeki asked, knowing what Zarc was planning on doing.

"On my right is Dragonarc Mandragora, and on my left, is Dragonarc Onlooker! These monsters' Levels were originally 2 and 7! By targeting them, a monster in my hand can Special Summoned should its Level be between these two!" Zarc explained. "With that in mind, via activating its effect, I call out our show's opening act! Level 3, **Dragonarc Behepo**!"

It was at that moment that above the symbols, two ethereal monsters materialized above them within light-blue pillars of transparent light. Dragonarc Mandragora was a small plant monster, taking the form of a child with flowers for hands and having a green body made of vines, with a dark green vine that took on the form of a snaking dragon wrapping its length around its body. Dragonarc Onlooker looked like an adult male cyborg, bearing green lines of energy along his body, holding what seemed to be a lightsaber. He notably wore a mask stylized after a dragon, and as such, his appearance underneath his suit could not be discerned.

A portal opened between the two pillars of light, and an orange dragon-shaped aura shot down from the portal to reveal Zarc's new monster. Dragonarc Behepo looked very much like a hippo…albeit a very strange one, as the head looked bulkier than most hippos and the entire creature appeared rather muscular, as opposed to the rubber skin that most hippos seemed to possess. The beast roared and stomped on the field, blowing air towards Shogeki.

 **Dragonarc Behepo/EARTH/Level 3/Beast/Effect/ATK: 800/DEF: 800**

"If Behepo is summoned via this effect," Zarc explained, "I can add 1 Dragon-Type monster from my deck to my hand, I pick Odd-Eyes Dragon!"

"Of course, it would be Odd-Eyes." Shogeki muttered.

"But I'm not done yet!" Zarc revealed. "You see Ladies and Gents, Behepo's summoning condition isn't unique! It's a power that all of his friends share, and I'll use those effects right now! So, come on out! **Dragonarc Soldier** and **Dragonarc Ethernaut**!"

The pillars of light continued to glow, and two more dragon-shaped auras, one colored blue and the other green, shot from a new portal and smashed onto the field. Shogeki watched as the dust cleared and Zarc's new monsters revealed themselves.

Dragonarc Soldier looked like a knight, wielding a large brown lance that seemed to be made of wood rather than metal. That being said, his entire body was covered in black metal, with his helmet being designed after a dragon. Soldier leveled his weapon at Shogeki, enabling the duelist to get a better look and see that the point of the weapon was indeed made of steel.

Dragonarc Ethernaut looked like an actual astronaut, except his suit was a tad thinner and was colored orange and green. A dragon symbol, identical to the ones that had manifested when Mandragora and Onlooker had been placed in the Spell/Trap zone was worn proudly on the astronaut's suit as an emblem. Ethernaut seemed to move more like a primitive robot than a person, and seemed to stare at Shogeki wordlessly.

 **Dragonarc Soldier/DARK/Level 4/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1400**

 **Dragonarc Ethernaut/WIND/Level 3/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1100/DEF: 1000**

"When I summon Dragonarc Soldier via this effect, his ATK and DEF both increase by 400! And as for Ethernaut, I can draw another card!" Zarc explained, drawing his card with a deliberate flourish.

 **Dragonarc Soldier/ATK: 2200/DEF: 1800**

"It's time for the star of the show to make his appearance! I release Dragonarc Behepo and Dragonarc Ethernaut!" Zarc declared. The mechanical astronaut and muscular hippo seemed to acknowledge the crowd, bowing out as they vanished into streams of light, causing a new portal to open in the sky.

" _Now, please put your hands together! Today's main attraction, the rare dragon with differently colored eyes! Odd-Eyes Dragon!"_

What appeared next was a medium-sized dragon with large, protruding red scales and a maroon-colored body. The beast lacked wings, instead having two curved beige spikes on its back. These were connected to a beige shell that covered the dragon's torso, with the front having two large blue orbs. The dragon's arms were short in length, and ended in beige claws. The beast had a long yellow beak for a mouth, and as Zarc described, the monster had heterochromia, possessing a red eye on its right and a green eye on its left.

 **Odd-Eyes Dragon/DARK/Level 7/Dragon/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000**

"Hmph, your ace monster already Zarc?" Shogeki asked dismissively, "I suppose that that's fitting. Showing off who you are, opening yourself up to people."

"…What?" Zarc asked, caught off-guard by Shogeki's words.

"Your dragon, Zarc." Shogeki began. "Is a representative of who you are. The decks used by any duelist tend to explain what kind of person they are. Such as Odd-Eyes, a beast that, quite frankly put, looks downright pathetic compared to say, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, or even Luster Dragon #2, but has a strange power within it that can enable it to surpass such monsters."

"What is he doing?" Leo asked, not expecting a soliloquy in the middle of the duel.

"This is how Shogeki gives people pep-talks." Maho groaned.

"Hopefully it can work." Ray whispered, shooting a quick glare at Leo.

"…Why is he giving a pep-talk?" Leo asked. Despite knowing about Ray's group of companions, he had never taken the time to get to know them aside from Aiyo, due to her having more straightforward manners than Shogeki and Maho. He had known about Zarc for longer…but despite that, he still didn't have a high amount of trust for the youth.

"…Maybe because Zarc's feeling down?" Aiyo asked. "The guy may look like a punk, but he's softer than a teddy bear."

"…I'm sorry, but…what?" Leo asked again, now completely and utterly confused.

"It's nothing Dad." Ray said in an icy voice, "You can go back to analyzing the duel."

Back on the dueling field, Zarc glared at Shogeki.

"I don't know what you're trying to pull Shogeki." He growled, "But it ends now! Odd-Eyes, attack his face-down monster! Spiral Flame!"

Odd-Eyes arched its back into the air, and fired a blast of red and black fire at Shogeki's set card.

"And so, you attack without caring about what could be lurking underneath, thinking that as you move forward…nothing will stop you." Shogeki said calmly, eyes shut for a moment, "But it leaves you blind to the consequences! I activate the Continuous Trap Card, **Sphinx Aura**!"

A card flipped face-up, depicting Guardian Sphinx glowing with a red aura as it rose from its normal position.

"Sphinx Aura makes it so that if a 'sphinx' monster is flipped face-up due to battle, I can treat it as a Flip Summon! Also, all piercing damage I take goes to zero!" Shogeki explained. "And as for the monster you attacked…"

Shogeki's set monster revealed itself, a humanoid being dressed in a Raj pattern and whose body was covered in topaz embedded into the flesh. The man's legs however, were replaced by the body of an orange lion, with the body seemingly made from stone and dressed in colorful cloth. The man's arms were folded stoically, and as he opened his eyes, seemed not to care about the spiraling blast of fire coming towards him.

"You had the bad idea to attack **Noranairsphinx**!" Shogeki revealed.

 **Noranairsphinx/EARTH/Level 6/Rock/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2400**

"When Noranairsphinx is Flip Summoned, two of your cards are automatically destroyed!" Shogeki declared. "I destroy Odd-Eyes Dragon and Dragonarc Onlooker!"

Noranairsphinx gathered two orbs of yellow light in his arms, and launched them at Zarc's cards. Odd-Eyes roared as the energy orb smacked it right in the face, causing the burst of fire to arc away from Noranairsphinx, before bursting into particles, while Dragonarc Onlooker's phantasmal symbol was obliterated by the energy ball.

"Damn it." Zarc cursed.

"And so, without knowing of the consequences, you suffer dearly for not preparing for them." Shogeki said. "The question now arises; how will you rise up from this error?"

"My, my, Shogeki seems to be getting a rise out of Zarc! How will he respond?!" Ichiro cut in.

"Hopefully by realizing what Shogeki's trying to tell him." Ray muttered looking at Zarc before shooting another glare at her father, who had returned to monitoring the game state with his tablet. That being said, she had a nagging feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong.

"Grr…that was sloppy of me." Zarc thought to himself. "I should've figured that Shogeki would have his sphinx combo prepared already. Why the hell did I fall into that trap so easily?" He remembered Shogeki's taunts, and tried to shove them aside…but they kept coming back to him for some reason.

Zarc looked over his hand, sighed, and then placed the remainder of his cards in his duel disk. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Shogeki shook his head. "So, you choose to hide from your mistake and not face-up to it…a very bad strategy to have Zarc."

Mistake? Zarc's eyebrow twitched. It was then that he realized just what Shogeki was doing…and when it clicked, Zarc's left eye began to twitch in annoyance and anger. He had just tried to deflect the issue…and here was Shogeki pushing for it again. Did the idiot not understand dropping an issue when it wasn't important?

"If you never stand up to that mistake, you will go nowhere. If you run away, you'll just regret it." Shogeki continued.

Zarc's eyebrow twitched even more violently. He was doing it! Shogeki was really doing it! Was he stupid? …Okay that was a rhetorical thought/question, but still! Zarc's mouth twitched in annoyance. He thought that they were just going to have a duel…but here was Shogeki playing mind games after he'd criticized Ray for the same damn reason! Zarc was in no mood to play this, and as if by impulse, just as Shogeki opened his mouth again…

"Oh, just shut up already!" Zarc snapped. "I get it, you're trying to convince me to have confidence to stand up to Ray's Dad and just date her as normal! Okay! Great! But I just want to duel you right now, and not play psychoanalyst! You just duel me, and we forget about this whole issue, okay?!"

Unfortunately, Zarc had forgotten that the duel arena was designed to effectively be an echo chamber, so that the audience would be able to follow the duel. As such, Zarc's words echoed around the duel arena…much to the surprise of everyone present, except…

"Oh my god." Maho giggled quietly. "He actually blurted it out."

"Shut up Maho." Aiyo hissed quietly, as Leo looked up from his tablet, glaring daggers at Zarc.

There weren't many people present in the audience, mind, but...

"What…did he…say?" Leo growled.

"Oh, Zarc…" Ray moaned silently, face red as she buried her face in her hands.

"Ray…" Leo asked, voice dangerously low. "What does he mean by 'standing up to me so he can date you'?"

An awkward silence filled the entire stadium. It wasn't every day that someone was stupid enough to blurt out their personal issues onto a dueling arena. Of course, not many people had come to the arena, or had left early due to learning that multiple duels for the day had been canceled. But still…it was an awkward moment nonetheless, with even Ichiro nervously pulling at his collar. Coughs filled the arena in an attempt to break the silence…but to no avail, the aura of uneasiness continued to pervade the air.

"Ray..." Leo warned, only for his daughter to bolt out of her seat.

"Ray!" Leo cried out.

"…Well…crap." Shogeki muttered, closing his eyes in preparation for the mouthful he was going to get. He could already feel Aiyo and Maho's eyes boring holes into his skull. "That backfired."

"And Zarc has ended his turn with two face-down cards! How will Shogeki respond?" Ichiro called nervously.

"Yeah, Shogeki, how WILL you respond?" Zarc asked, voice dangerously low as he glared at Shogeki.

Shogeki sighed. This was not how he had expected things to go. He was hoping that he could try to subtly nudge Zarc into standing up for himself and get it through Leo's head that no, Zarc wasn't going to do something like kill, rape, or somehow destroy Ray's future…and that had turned out to bomb horribly. He was honestly more frightened from Zarc's silence (And the silence of the girls) than any heated argument…

But in a situation like this, he had to try something constructive.

"B-before your turn ends, I activate the Trap Card **Sphinx Force**!" Shogeki declared, activating a card depicting Criosphinx holding a number of cards in the air via telepathy. "This card changes a number of 'sphinx' monsters I control to face-down Defense Position and sets an equal number of cards on your field! I change Noranairsphinx back into face-down Defense Position and then set Dragonarc Soldier into Defense Position!"

Green aura emanated from the trap card, and Noranairsphinx closed his eyes, returning to his slumber. Dragonarc Soldier tried to resist, but was forced face-down, his image fading away and replaced with the set monster icon.

"Hmph." Zarc grunted, eyes narrowed dangerously. Shogeki could've sworn that they were tinted red for a brief moment.

Shogeki gulped. He knew fully well that he was going to pay for managing to make a mess of things.

"Kick his ass Zarc!" Aiyo called out.

"Give him hell!" Maho cried out.

The girls' cheering seemed to light a fire into the audience, desperate to make the silence go away. Some began to pick up on Aiyo and Maho's cheering, and began chanting for Zarc, blurting out as many violent urgings as possible.

"BLOW HIM UP!" A man with blond hair sneered.

"SMASH HIM!" Another voice called out.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, BUT GET HIM ANYWAYS!" An honestly clueless guy cheered.

"ZARC! ZARC! ZARC!" Another voice joined in. This chant proved to be the most infectious, as almost everyone who was present in the arena joined in on the chant.

"ZARC!"

"ZARC!"

"ZARC!"

The cheers of the audience seemed to have an effect on Zarc, as he looked at Shogeki with a wild, albeit annoyed expression in his eyes. A sinister grin spread across Zarc's face, along with a pulsing vein that beat atop his forehead. Zarc cracked his knuckles, and stared at Shogeki. Shogeki gulped as he saw Zarc's eyes seem to glow for a brief moment.

"Well? It's your turn." Zarc said lowly.

Well, might as well make the best out of a bad situation. Shogeki nodded, and pulled out a card. "I draw!"

Leo glared at Zarc. "So…he admitted that he's aiming for my daughter after all. I need to talk with Ray about this."

Leo deactivated his tablet and got up from his seat.

"Um…sir." Aiyo ventured, but got no reply as Leo left to find Ray.

"…Nice going Shogeki." Maho grumbled.

* * *

It wasn't hard for Leo to find Ray, she was sitting at the Concessions area of the arena, sitting down at a table with her head lying down. She wasn't crying, or at least, her body wasn't showing any signs of it. Leo heard his daughter sigh in frustration. So, she wasn't crying. Perhaps that meant they could have a conversation.

Leo pulled out the seat in front of his daughter and sat down.

"So…explain what you've been doing with that boy." Leo grumbled.

"Really? That's what you call him?" Ray growled, voice muffled under her arms.

"Ray…answer the question." Leo said sternly.

Ray looked up at her father and glared. "We haven't done anything 'inappropriate'!" air quoting the words.

"Perhaps our definitions of what is appropriate and what is not differ." Leo replied.

"Kissing, hugging, and talking to each other are not inappropriate!" Ray exclaimed. "I've known Zarc since we were kids, Dad! You know he's not some kind of monster!"

"I saw him in the arena, he seemed rather willing to tear apart that other boy." Leo replied calmly.

"Who wouldn't want to kick Shogeki's ass for doing something so monumentally idiotic?!" Ray burst out. "If Zarc beats the crap out of him, I'd say that Shogeki deserves it! And also, Dad, really? That boy? That other boy? What? Are Aiyo and Maho, 'That Girl' and 'That other Girl'?"

"I'm willing to trust Aiyo Habara. She comes from a rather well-to-do pro-duelist family, and seems to be a rather upstanding member of society on her own merits." Leo replied. "I don't exactly find Shogeki and Maho to be completely trustworthy."

"Shogeki and Maho aren't delinquents!" Ray said indignantly. "Sure…Maho can be creepy sometimes, but she's not a bad person! Shogeki's a bit energetic, but that doesn't automatically mean that he's some kind of crazy weirdo!"

Leo took a deep breath, and massaged his temples.

"And Zarc isn't going to try anything funny!" Ray replied. "Hell, chances are if we did do it, I'd be the one in charge."

Leo's left eye twitched at Ray's blatantly crass statement. Ray noticed, and realized that she finally had some ground with which to actually get over the hurdle Leo had put up.

"And as a result, Dad…why don't you trust Zarc? You've never answered that question, and I want to know why! And don't say that it's because 'he doesn't feel like someone who can be trusted', I've been in his apartment, and I've known him since Elementary, Middle, and High school! Not once has he ever shown anything that can be called 'evil' or 'developing serial killer'!" With that, Ray thumped her fingers onto the table, emphasizing her next few words. "So. What. Is. The. Problem?"

Leo looked at his daughter…and sighed.

"Ray…do you remember what happened when you were just nine years old?" Leo asked.

Ray blinked.

"Y-you don't mean?" she asked hesitantly.

A set of memories flashed through Leo's mind, as he tried to explain it all to his daughter.

" _I'll only be gone a few weeks. Take care of Ray sweetheart." Himika Akaba said._

 _It was almost as if it had been yesterday, even though it had been ten years ago. Himika Akaba, one of Venus Corporation's most skilled and shrewd businesswomen, was going to attend a conference in Shirogane for a few weeks. If it went over well, she was confident that she could seal the deal concerning several lucrative contracts for the company. Leo still remembered her cream-colored business suit, and her magenta-auburn hair. He could remember Ray hugging her mother and asking her to be back soon._

" _I'll make sure that the house doesn't collapse." Leo replied warmly. "Take care dear."_

 _The good-bye wave and wink that Himika had given her family was the last time they'd ever see her again. One week after Himika had left for Shirogane, Leo saw on the news…that awful, horrible news of destruction running rampant in the district. Reporters sent swarms of helicopters in a desperate attempt to catch the violent acts. Bombings, riots, arson cases…someway, somehow, SOMETHING had attacked Shirogane. And Leo saw the building that Himika had showed him…the one where the conference was taking place. Whatever it had previously looked like, it was now nothing but a pile of burnt out rubble._

 _The scene was utter chaos, no one knew what to make out what was happening, and whenever it seemed that reporters would get footage of what was behind the destruction, this, attack, the cameras went dark. For almost an entire day, Shirogane had become hell on earth…and then, near the end…there was a flash of light, and the entire city was destroyed. After that…nothing. Oh, there were still some leftover rioters and looters, but those became inconsequential. Leo and Ray watched on the television screen, as the once beautiful town of Shirogane lay in ruins. Leo could still remember Ray's crying, how she bawled for her mother to come back…but to no avail. Leo barely remembered what he had done. He just felt like shutting down, an insatiable urge to sleep…hoping against hope that he would wake up, and Himika would have somehow miraculously survived._

 _Later, Leo would learn that the attack, yes, it was a terrorist attack of some kind, had claimed thousands of lives. Almost everyone who lived in the city was dead. The final explosion that had devastated the town was compared to the Halifax Explosion in 1917…only this burst was deliberate. Someone had either stolen or created, most investigators stated that it was a mix of the two, high explosive materials and set them off in the middle of town. But it was not that what had killed Himika, whom Leo now knew for sure had perished in the attack. Several hours before this massive bomb had been set off, another bomb-based attack had struck the conference building where Himika had been. The entire structure was razed to the ground. There were no survivors…only remains._

 _Leo watched as Ray tried to get over losing her mother. She began spending more time outside of the house…and seemed to stay out of the living room, not wanting to go back there. It seemed that she didn't want to ever go back to the room where she learned that Mommy had died. Leo watched as she would spend an increasing amount of time with Zarc, a boy who had never known his parents, an orphan passed over for adoption several times, and later on, just ignored. He claimed that he could hear his Duel Monsters cards talk to him, particularly his favorite cards, Odd-Eyes Dragon and Astrograph Sorcerer. Ray sometimes said that she could hear them herself, but Leo never knew if she was playing along with the boy, or if she legitimately meant it._

 _Leo felt helpless, and he loathed feeling helpless. He felt even more helpless when one day, Ray came running to him crying, claiming that Zarc had been mean to her. Leo would find out that Zarc had been insensitive to Ray's crying…and damn if he was going to let Ray cry any longer, and damn if he wasn't going to keep her safe! It was then that Leo remembered what he learned during…his research._

 _In his spare time dealing with the aftermath of Himika's death via life insurance, payment to the morgues, and the like, he'd heard of rumors on the Internet about the attack in Shirogane being connected to other attacks all over the world. Mysterious fires in West Africa that had destroyed several indigenous tribes, the bombing of Heartland Academy that had killed all students and staff present, and most horrifically of all, the strange atomic bombing of Nagasaki that was eerily similar to the Shirogane Inferno…except there were less available details concerning that attack. All that was known was that the hills surrounding the town had somehow been leveled, that the town had caught fire, and finally, that someone had dropped a nuclear weapon on the city. There were no survivors. At least there were some people who had been caught in the Shirogane Inferno and survived to at least see their families again. The Nagasaki Fireball, as the media called it, was a true worst-case scenario. The connection came about from suspicions that it was the same person who orchestrated these atrocities._

 _As if things weren't as bad as one would think…somehow, it got worse. Leo had read up on even more crimes like these, the horrors that had held his attention were nothing more than the tip of the iceberg among so many other cases. Leo didn't want any of these events to hurt his little girl. He wouldn't allow anything to hurt her. If he did…what would Himika say? He kept a closer eye on Ray's social circles, paying special attention to the boy who had hurt his daughter. Ray may have eventually made up with Zarc, but Leo was not going to let go of that suspicion just in case. He would not let anyone harm his little girl, and if he ever met the one responsible for all of this bloodshed, ESPECIALLY the one who had killed his wife…he would never let that monster near his daughter._

"That's why I'm against you dating him."

"But, Zarc's not the one behind any of those attacks." Ray pointed out.

"He may not have been, but that is not my point." Leo replied. "If you're not in my sight, I can't be sure that someone could try to attack you! And if these rumors are true, that there is some kind of psychotic murdering cult leader, I want to be sure that I can keep him or her far away from you! I don't trust Zarc to do it for me."

"…Dad…" Ray said softly, anger and frustration dissolving.

"Why do you think I readily agreed to you staying at the house during your Pro-Dueling Career?" Leo asked.

"That…does put a new perspective on things." Ray admitted, biting her lips.

"Do you understand now?" Leo asked.

"I understand." Ray said. "But…again. If this freakshow you talked about ever comes here…what are the chances that we can stop him or her anyways? At the very least…I'd still want to have Zarc with me if we couldn't stop him…at least we could be together then."

"You still want to be with him?" Leo asked incredulously, "Ray, don't you remember how he upset you all those years ago?"

"Yes…because he screwed up trying to cheer me up. Zarc's never had a family, Dad, and well…he didn't fully understand why I was sad. Also…we were nine years old! Nine! Kids do stupid things!" Ray defended. "Zarc wasn't deliberately trying to upset me all those years ago, and he's been a swell guy to this day!"

"Despite what he might do to Shogeki?" Leo questioned.

"Dad, I'm pretty sure that all of us are going to beat Shogeki to a pulp for trying a scheme that, while well-founded, was incredibly stupid." Ray deadpanned.

"I…see." Leo muttered.

"…How about this?" Ray ventured. "If Shogeki can defeat Zarc, I'll push aside the question of him needing your approval. But if Zarc wins, you give him a chance. Get to actually know him beyond a bratty kid."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "You honestly expect me to agree to such terms?"

"After everything that's happened in the space of ten to fifteen minutes, yes." Ray replied.

Father and Daughter locked eyes at each other, neither one giving an indication of budging from their position, until Leo sighed and closed his eyes. "Very well Ray, let's see how this little deal pays off." He muttered.

"Thanks, Dad." Ray said with relief, jumping out of her chair and hugging her father.

* * *

But back at the arena, there was no obvious sign of reconciliation as Shogeki and Zarc continued their duel.

"I summon **Tamilsphinx**!" Shogeki declared, summoning the drawn monster.

Yet another stone lion creature with a human face hopped onto the field. It was colored a dull shade of orange with no obvious decorations on it. Instead, each of the cracks in the bricks that made up the monster glowed a golden color, and the face on the sphinx looked more like that of an emotionless robot than a human.

 **Tamilsphinx/EARTH/Level 4/Rock/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2000**

"Tamilsphinx's summon lets me add a new 'sphinx' card from my deck to my hand." Shogeki explained. "I will add **Sphinx Shade Draw** , and activate it! Now I target a set card and confirm it to my opponent! If I confirm that it is a 'sphinx' card, I can draw 2 more cards! I'll confirm that Noranairsphinx is face-down, and then draw twice!"

A shadowy version of Noranairsphinx emerged, and dissolved into a dark mist that entered Shogeki's deck as he drew.

"And now, I'll Flip Summon Noranairsphinx!" Shogeki declared, causing the stoic man-lion to reappear, arms still crossed solemnly.

 **Noranairsphinx/EARTH/Level 6/Rock/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2400**

"Noranairsphinx's effect activates, I destroy two cards! I'll get rid of your two face-down cards!" Shogeki declared.

Noranairsphinx once again created his energy orbs, and blasted Zarc's set cards into oblivion, revealing them to be Oasis of Dragon Souls and **Dragonarc Twist**. Zarc didn't react when his face-down cards were destroyed, and maintained his glare towards Shogeki, who had decided to ignore it.

"Go! Noranairsphinx attacks your set monster! Man-Strike Blast!" Shogeki commanded.

Noranairsphinx jumped into the air, and fired a blast of energy at the set Dragonarc Soldier, destroying the warrior before he could register what happened.

"And now a direct attack from Tamilsphinx! Sphinx Claw!"

Tamilsphinx jumped at Zarc, and swept its claws at him. Zarc grunted as he rose his arm to defend himself, but overall seemed unfazed by the Sphinx's attack.

 **Zarc LP: 3000**

"Via their effects, Noranairsphinx and Tamilsphinx can change themselves to face-down Defense Positon." Shogeki said uneasily as the two man-beast statues returned to the set card position. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

"My turn." Zarc growled. "DRAW!"

Zarc looked at his card, and slammed it into his duel disk, stoic anger still present in his face.

"I activate the Spell Card, **Dragonarc Shatterpoint**!" he declared. "Now, I can destroy 1 'Dragonarc' monster in my Spell/Trap zone and then replace it with a different one in my graveyard! I destroy Mandragora, and replace it with Onlooker!"

The spell card, which depicted numerous curves of dragon-shaped energy emanating from a single point, shot a lightning bolt at where Mandragora's symbol was, destroying it. Afterwards, in a different Spell/Trap zone, Onlooker's symbol returned to the field, the number '7' glowing ominously.

"When Mandragora is destroyed, I can add a new 'Dragonarc' monster from my deck to my hand, I choose **Dragonarc Magician**." Zarc grumbled as his duel disk ejected the card. "Now, via its effect, I will place Magician in my Spell/Trap zone as a Continuous Spell Card."

Another Dragonarc emblem manifested onto the field, except it had the number '3' above it. Just as it appeared however, it began glowing with a dark red light.

"During the turn I activate Magician as a Spell card, I can add another 'Dragonarc' card from my deck to my hand." Zarc explained. "I choose to add **Dragonarc Wyvern**."

Just as Zarc added the card to his hand however, he slammed it onto his duel disk angrily, staring daggers at Shogeki, who gulped as he heard the angry roaring of Zarc's upcoming monster, as if it shared its master's desire to pummel Shogeki into the ground.

"Dragonarc Wyvern's Level is 6, which is between Magician's original Level of 3 and Onlooker's Level of 7! So, I Special Summon it!" Zarc roared.

Magician and Onlooker appeared within the blue columns of light once again. Dragonarc Magician wore spiked, layered red armor with blue, green, purple, yellow, and orange gems embedded in his suit, whilst wielding a wooden staff whose top end was shaped like that of a dragon. Unlike Onlooker, Magician did not wear a helmet, revealing his face, which was marked with what seemed to be dragon scales and showing a head full of spiked, steel-blue hair.

From between the two pillars, a portal opened, and Dragonarc Wyvern flew onto the field. Wyvern had dragon wings in place of arms, and had spiked scales styled in a similar way to Magician's armor. Wyvern's scales were colored an amber yellow, all while additional curved spikes curled from the dragon's back. Wyvern let out yet another roar, angrily eyeing Shogeki's field.

 **Dragonarc Wyvern/FIRE/Level 6/Wyrm/Effect/ATK: 2300/DEF: 1400**

"If Wyvern is Special Summoned via his effect, I can destroy one of your cards!" Zarc growled. "Destroy Sphinx Aura! Giant Wingbeat!"

Wyvern flapped his wings, and rose high into the air, before sweeping them towards Shogeki's trap card, which was torn to shreds as fiery energy blades burst from Wyvern's wings and impacted it.

"Damn it." Shogeki cursed.

"Now your Sphinx monsters can't activate their effects when I attack them." Zarc growled. "But why do it with one dragon when I have another in the graveyard!"

Zarc turned towards the audience, who were cheering as Zarc's comeback began tearing apart Shogeki's field. "Let me ask you something folks, what do you think is missing from this scene?"

"Popcorn!" yelled one member of the audience.

"…No." Zarc replied, deflating from the answer, having expected something more dramatic.

"Hot Wings!" yelled another.

"Good! But also no." Zarc replied, eliciting a large groan from the audience.

"A boxing glove to punch Shogeki with!" Maho offered.

"Wait, what?" Shogeki asked in horror, seeing an unholy gleam in Maho's eyes.

"Closer to what I meant, but no. What's missing from the scene is our star attraction! We can't have Wyvern go on out there alone! He needs help, and that's what I'm going to give him!" Zarc revealed. "I activate the graveyard effect of Dragonarc Twist! By banishing this card in my graveyard, I can target 1 'Dragonarc' monster I control that I summoned via its own effect, and then Special Summon another Dragon-Type in my graveyard whose Level is either 1 Level higher or lower than the monster I targeted! Wyvern's Level is six, meaning I can summon a Level 5 or a Level 7 Dragon-Type from my graveyard, and you know what that means!"

"Odd-Eyes!" Aiyo and Maho said in unison.

"Correct! Come on back old friend!" Zarc laughed as the heterochromatic dragon emerged from a graveyard portal, roaring in triumph at its resurrection.

 **Odd-Eyes Dragon/DARK/Level 7/Dragon/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000**

"Incredible!" Ichiro roared. "Just like that, Zarc has turned the tables on his opponent! It seems that the little outburst from before will be paid back with interest folks!"

"GO!" Zarc bellowed. "Odd-Eyes, attack the set Noranairsphinx! Spiral Flame!"

Odd-Eyes roared, firing its breath weapon at Noranairsphinx's set form, which quickly flipped face-up. Noranairsphinx continued to keep his stoic demeanor as Odd-Eyes attacked him once again. He closed his eyes, accepting his fate as his body was shattered by the blow.

 **Noranairsphinx/EARTH/Level 6/Rock/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2400**

"I'm not done yet!" Zarc growled. "When Odd-Eyes destroys a Level 5 or higher monster in battle, you take damage equal to half of that monster's ATK! Since Noranairsphinx had 2000 ATK, that's 1000 damage! TAKE THIS! REACTION FORCE!"

Shogeki grimaced as a second blast of fire burst from where Noranairsphinx had been destroyed and struck him in the face. Shogeki staggered, grateful that it was only Solid Vision. He didn't want to imagine what would happen if the attack had been real…especially with Zarc as pissed off as he was.

 **Shogeki LP: 3000**

"Now the score's been evened somewhat." Zarc grumbled. "Next! Dragonarc Wyvern! Attack the set Tamilsphinx! Dragonic Gunfire!"

Wyvern roared, and fired a volley of fireballs at Shogeki's remaining monster.

"You won't destroy my monster that easily!" Shogeki countered. "I activate the graveyard effect of my Sanskrisphinx! By banishing it, I can make Tamilsphinx immune to destruction this turn!"

The fireballs slammed into the card backing, but a yellow barrier protected it. After the attack was over, Tamilsphinx flipped itself face-up, its face not showing any change in emotion, as if it had never been attacked at all.

 **Tamilsphinx/EARTH/Level 4/Rock/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2000**

"Don't think I'm going down that easily Zarc!" Shogeki cried out. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card, **Sphinx Dust**! Now I target my Tamilsphinx and draw a card!"

A card depicting a crumbling Tamilsphinx flipped face-up, and indeed, pieces of Tamilsphinx's body seemed to crumble into dust that settled onto Shogeki's deck, which caused the top card to glow yellow. Shogeki drew his card, and looked at it intently, eyes widening as he realized what card he had just drawn. He then looked at Zarc, noticing that his anger seemed to have ebbed somewhat since he'd actually managed to get some damage in.

Shogeki looked Zarc in the eye, and activated his next card.

"During your Main Phase 2, I will activate a second copy of Sphinx Force, setting Tamilsphinx face-down and doing the same to Dragonarc Wyvern."

The trap card revealed itself, unleashing the green aura from before, forcing Tamilsphinx and Dragonarc Wyvern into face-down Defense Position.

"Tch. Turn End." Zarc mumbled.

"My turn, I draw." Shogeki said calmly.

"Both Shogeki and Zarc have even Life Points!" Ichiro bellowed. "It's still anyone's game! How will the tide of battle turn?"

"Hopefully in Zarc's favor." Ray said quietly as she sat down again, this time next to her father, who had also returned and reactivated his tablet, catching up with the game state.

"…So…what's going on?" Maho asked.

"Basically, if Shogeki wins, then I have to hold off on Zarc dating me." Ray sighed. "If Zarc wins, Dad gives him a chance."

"And you said that he wouldn't agree to a duel!" Maho grinned.

"I'm not the one who is dueling." Leo said sternly, glaring at Maho before focusing his attention onto the duel.

"Eh, fair point." Maho said, ignoring Leo's attitude.

Aiyo rolled her eyes as Ray looked at Zarc, noticing how he seemed rather…angry for lack of a better term. Good. Give Shogeki a piece of his mind…wait, scratch that, everyone's mind. The desire to want Zarc to win bubbled up inside of Ray, and she let that desire be known…

"GET HIM, ZARC!" Ray called out.

Zarc blinked, the glare in his eyes fading as he saw Ray back in the audience seat, cheering him on. The rest of the audience picked up on Ray's cheer and began to chant Zarc's name once more, but Zarc ignored that, after all, Ray was back…and it seemed that she was eager to have Zarc beat Shogeki into the ground.

Zarc closed his eyes, breathed in, breathed out, and looked at Shogeki, a look of determination replacing the desire to murder Shogeki where he stood.

It was an improvement, Shogeki thought to himself as he prepared his next play.

"I Flip Summon Tamilsphinx!" he declared, causing the stone lion to return to life. Tamilsphinx's face was as emotionless as ever as it stared at Odd-Eyes.

 **Tamilsphinx/EARTH/Level 4/Rock/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2000**

"Tamilsphinx's effect! When I Flip Summon it, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'sphinx' monster from my deck in face-down Defense Position!" Shogeki declared, causing his deck to eject another monster, which he set face-down.

"Now…" Shogeki purred. "I summon a second copy of Tamilsphinx!"

A second stone lion hopped onto the field, with the same stoic stare as the first Tamilsphinx.

 **Tamilsphinx/EARTH/Level 4/Rock/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2000**

"With the effect of the second Tamilsphinx, I add **Purashamsphinx** from my deck to my hand!" Shogeki said, adding what seemed to be a high-Level monster to his hand.

"Now…Tamilsphinx #1! Attack Odd-Eyes! Sphinx Claw!" Shogeki ordered.

Tamilsphinx jumped at Odd-Eyes, to Zarc's surprise.

"Wait…you're attacking me with…wait." He said, realizing what Shogeki was going to do.

"By tributing two 'sphinx' monsters that are face-up during the Battle Phase, I can Special Summon Purashamsphinx from my hand!" Shogeki revealed.

The two Tamilsphinxs shattered into dust, which began to swirl and coalesce on Shogeki's field. A whirlwind formed as Shogeki began to chant.

" _The beast that takes the form of man! Absolve the field of sins and let loose a holy roar! Appear now! Level 8, Purashamsphinx!"_

The whirlwind disappeared, revealing an absolute mammoth monster. Purashamsphinx far towered above Zarc's monsters, taking the form of a massive lion with a human face. Its body was colored a solid bronze, with its intricate and thick steel mane covered in orange paint. Where the body might've cracked, there was a warm orange glow. The beast roared at Zarc's monsters and stood proud over the field in triumph.

 **Purashamsphinx/EARTH/Level 8/Rock/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 3000**

"That's a big kitty." Maho noted.

"So…now your ace monster shows itself." Zarc muttered.

"Indeed! And now a replay occurs! Purashamsphinx, attack the set Dragonarc Wyvern!" Shogeki commanded.

"Wait, WHAT?!" Leo asked in confusion.

"Oh my!" Ichiro cried out. "Shogeki has chosen to attack Zarc's set monster, and not the face-up Odd-Eyes!"

Purashamsphinx barely had to move. It merely crushed the set monster with a direct stomp from its claws.

"I set two cards face-down and with Purashamsphinx's effect, change it to face-down Defense Position. Turn End." Shogeki said.

"Why didn't he attack Odd-Eyes?" Leo asked in shock. "He could've inflicted actual damage!"

"Wyvern is a 'Dragonarc' monster." Aiyo pointed out. "It has wider combo synergy with Zarc's deck. Most people use archetypes these days to help maximize their consistency and synergy, and if Zarc, by per chance, drew a card that needs a 'Dragonarc' monster, then Odd-Eyes would be less helpful in that regard. The card would be a dead draw, and Shogeki could shave away Zarc's remaining Life Points with no trouble. Odd-Eyes' effect is also pretty simple compared to Zarc's other cards. It really doesn't pose much of a tactical advantage right now. Wyvern was the bigger threat."

"I see." Leo noted, typing in new data into his tablet.

"Don't give up Zarc!" Ray called out, causing the audience to call out again.

"ZARC! ZARC! ZARC!"

"Heh…" Zarc said quietly. "As if I ever planned on giving up now! My turn, DRAW!"

Zarc flipped his card over, and grinned. He'd drawn just what he needed.

"I activate the spell card, **Dragonarc Return**!" He declared, activating a card that showed Dragonarc Soldier, Mandragora, Behepo, a monster that appeared as a cybernetic rocket designed after a dragon, and Magician. "This returns five 'Dragonarc' monsters into my deck and lets me draw twice! I choose to shuffle Dragonarc Soldier, Ethernaut, Behepo, Wyvern, and Mandragora!"

The five cards were ejected from Zarc's graveyard and were auto-shuffled into his deck. Zarc then drew two more cards with a flourish, and smiled once he saw them.

"I activate the effects of the monsters in my hand!" he declared, causing Magician and Onlooker's ethereal forms to return.

"Both of their Levels are four! Come on out, **Dragonarc Howler** and **Dragonarc Knight**!"

A wolf with red fur roared as it jumped from the portal, holding a tattoo identical to the Dragonarc Emblem, along with a knight wearing black armor who bore the same emblem. Both of them looked at Shogeki's set field, with the wolf growling while the knight remained stoic.

 **Dragonarc Howler/DARK/Level 4/Beast/Effect/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1100**

 **Dragonarc Knight/DARK/Level 4/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1300**

"When Howler is summoned via his effect, I can draw 1 card!" Zarc revealed, drawing once more and looking at the card he had. He grinned. He now had a way to cripple the strategy that Shogeki was bound to use again.

Zarc was proven right when Shogeki revealed his field.

"Double Trap open!" Shogeki cried out. " **Sphinx Labyrinth** and a second copy of Sphinx Aura! Now I can choose the targets for your attacks and thanks to Sphinx Aura, I can treat the battle flips as Flip Summons!"

"Of course…" Zarc grimaced. "But that's not going to be much of a problem! I overlay my Level four Dragonarc Howler and Dragonarc Knight!"

"An Xyz Summon!" Ichiro cried out. "We've not seen any Extra Deck summons so far in this duel! What monster will we get to look at!"

Howler let out a howl, and Knight rose his sword into the air. Both monsters transformed into streams of purple light and flew into the overlay network as Zarc began to chant.

" _Warrior who has bonded with dragons, emerge from the dark cavern and unsheathe your blade of fire! Xyz Summon! Come out, Rank 4,_ _ **Dragonarc Paladin**_ _!"_

Dragonarc Paladin emerged, revealing his face, which was covered with teal-colored dragon scales, while having shaggy black hair. He wore an armor not too dissimilar to that of Dark Blade, except he only wielded one sword, which was quite clearly a large broadsword with a dragon scale design in the center of the blade, and his cape was colored dark green with the Dragonarc emblem displayed proudly on the back. Paladin gave his sword tentative swings, and readied himself for combat.

 **Dragonarc Paladin/DARK/Rank 4/Warrior/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1900**

Zarc took a deep breath as he analyzed the field. Sphinx Aura was active again, and Zarc was glad that Shogeki had chosen to activate it instead of keeping it set. Otherwise, this strategy might not have worked.

Speaking of Shogeki, Zarc was surprised that his anger towards him had dampened. Oh sure, he was still annoyed and would bop Shogeki over the head (Or see what Aiyo and Maho did to him because that was honestly a far crueler punishment), but he didn't feel like killing him like he had earlier when Shogeki had made that boneheaded thought to provoke Zarc in an attempt to instill confidence. Screw that, Zarc had plenty of confidence. He felt at ease, and was ready to win the duel, and perhaps get over the wall that was Leo Akaba after all.

Zarc smiled, and pointed at the Set Card that was Purashamsphinx.

"Dragonarc Paladin, attack!" Zarc commanded.

Paladin roared and jumped at Shogeki's field.

"Due to the effect of Sphinx Labyrinth, I can choose the target for your attack!" Shogeki said.

"Either I have him attack **Palisphinx** and retrieve Tamilsphinx or I have him attack Purashamsphinx and nuke his backrow…" Shogeki thought. It was too risky to lose Palisphinx right now and if Zarc had drawn _that_ specific card, nuking Zarc's monsters might be a very bad idea. He didn't want a certain Rank 7 Xyz Monster staring him down.

"You will attack Purashamsphinx!" Shogeki declared.

Purashamsphinx emerged from his set position, and yawned as he swatted away Dragonarc Paladin like a fly.

 **Purashamsphinx/EARTH/Level 8/Rock/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 3000**

 **Zarc LP: 2400**

"I then activate Purashamsphinx's effect! If it is Flip Summoned, I can choose whether or not to destroy all of your monsters or all of your Spells and Traps! I choose the latter! GO! SPHINX COSMOS!" Shogeki yelled.

Purashamsphinx looked at Zarc's Dragonarc Spells and opened his massive maw. Purashamsphinx's mouth was filled with cosmic formations, namely stars and galaxies. Then, they focused onto the very sun itself…which then launched a prominence at Zarc's Spell/Trap Zone and destroyed the emblems representing Magician and Onlooker.

"That's just what I wanted you to do!" Zarc grimaced, accepting the sacrifice caused by his gamble. "I activate Paladin's effect! I detach 1 Overlay Unit and give one of my monsters ATK equal to the damage I took! Odd-Eyes! Power up!"

Paladin absorbed one of his overlay units and aimed his sword at Odd-Eyes, launching an aura of darkness that coated the dragon and increased its strength. Odd-Eyes roared as its ATK increased.

 **Odd-Eyes Dragon/ATK: 3100**

"And after that, I can force our monsters to battle! Sphinx Labyrinth can't stop this! Odd-Eyes, attack Purashamsphinx!" Zarc commanded

"SPIRAL FLAME!"

Odd-Eyes jumped into the air and fired at the giant lion statue, which tried to resist the blast of red fire. But it was to no avail, Purashamsphinx let out a pitiful roar as it exploded.

"Odd-Eyes' effect activates!" Zarc declared. "REACTION FORCE!"

Shogeki growled as he was pushed back by the explosion. "That being said, Sphinx Labyrinth lets me draw another card whenever one of my 'sphinx' monsters leaves the field on your turn!"

 **Shogeki LP: 1750**

"I'm not done though, I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card, **Dragonarc Flash** in my hand!" Zarc grinned. "I destroy Sphinx Aura and then draw 1 card!"

A red dragon-shaped energy blast shot out and destroyed the trap card, causing Shogeki to grimace as his strategy seemed to collapse, but then he focused on the card he'd drawn. With the right draw on his next turn, he might be able to turn the duel around.

"Turn End." Zarc said.

"Then it's my turn again, draw!" Shogeki replied.

"How long is this duel going to last?" Leo asked, nervous at Shogeki's Life Points going to below half and how the duel seemed to drag on compared to Ray's duel.

"This is how Shogeki duels." Maho groaned. "That's why it's fun to cripple him with Spellstone Counters. Makes his big Flip/Stall tricks crash and burn."

"Or just blow them up before they can go off." Aiyo pointed out.

"Or shuffle them into his deck and give him dead draws." Ray chimed in. "Zarc's more of an 'Overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers and effects via battle.' Not the best way to fight a deck like Shogeki's."

"…I may have to stay here longer than I thought then…" Leo muttered, reviewing the data he had input into his tablet.

"Why, exactly Dad?" Ray asked, but Leo did not reply, as he was immersed in whatever it was that he was analyzing.

Shogeki breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the card he had drawn. So, there was still a chance for him to win.

"I will Flip Summon Palisphinx!" he declared, causing a thin man with the body of a grey lion to appear onto the field. The man seemed rather old, and had topaz for eyes along with long, emacinated arms, which clashed quite badly with the robust lion body that took the place of his legs. To Zarc, the man-lion seemed like he was sleeping.

 **Palisphinx/Earth/Level 3/Rock/Effect/ATK: 1100/DEF: 1200**

"Palisphinx, once Flipped face-up, gains 800 DEF, and since it was Flip Summoned as well, Special Summons 1 Level 6 or lower 'sphinx' monster from my graveyard in face-down Defense Position! Resurrect! Noranairsphinx!"

Palisphinx's topaz eyes glowed, as its upper body was covered with a brick-like pattern. The eyes then shot out a conjoined beam of orange light that opened a graveyard portal, causing the card form of Noranairsphinx to exit the portal and settle itself down in face-down Defense Position.

 **Palisphinx/DEF: 2000**

"Now, for the coup de grace." Shogeki purred. "I activate the continuous Spell card, **Sphinx Action**!"

A card showing an angered Guardian Sphinx and Hieracosphinx appeared on the field, glowing an ominous orange aura.

"Sphinx Action's effect is simple, but deadly." Shogeki explained. "I can confirm a Set 'sphinx' monster and then Flip Summon it! Arise once more, Noranairsphinx!"

Noranairsphinx rose to his full height, staring at his opposition with the same stoic expression as before.

 **Noranairsphinx/EARTH/Level 6/Rock/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2400**

"When I Flip Summon Noranairsphinx, I destroy two of my opponent's cards! Destroy Odd-Eyes and Paladin!" Shogeki roared.

Noranairsphinx charged his energy fields and fired at the two monsters, who tried to resist the blasts as long as they could, but to no avail. Two violent explosions shook the field as Zarc's monsters were destroyed, covering the dragon duelist's side of the field in dust and smoke.

"Now, you're wide open!" Shogeki grinned.

"Oh my!" Ichiro cried out. "Zarc's last line of defense has been destroyed! Can he stage one last comeback?!"

"If he has that card, then yes, yes he can." Ray said confidently.

All of a sudden, the dust cleared away, and in front of Zarc, there was a blue-skinned man with white hair, wearing a dark-blue bodysuit patterned after the very stars in the sky. His face was almost completely covered, save for his eyes, and a cape that parted in two very much like wings trailed off of his back. The magician-like being held a simple staff that seemed to be made of pure energy, with several blue circles covered in runes floating above him.

 **Astrograph Sorcerer/DARK/Level 7/Spellcaster/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000**

" _Astrograph Sorcerer's_ effect!" Zarc revealed, a confident smirk on his face. "If any of my cards get destroyed, I can Special Summon this card from my hand, target 1 of those cards, and then return it to my hand! Of course, since I'm picking Dragonarc Paladin, he returns to the Extra Deck instead!"

A yellow light shot from Zarc's graveyard and entered his Extra Deck, confirming Dragonarc Paladin's rescue from the grave.

"And Zarc counters with Astrograph Sorcerer!" Ichiro bellowed.

For their part, the audience was amazed at the monster on Zarc's field. It felt otherworldly, and to many of the women and some men, looked downright beautiful in every aspect. The monster seemed like it was a living embodiment of the stars themselves, and shone with the brilliance of one. It had even acted as a miraculous beacon of light, saving Zarc from what was sure to have been certain defeat.

"Bleh…too many sparkles." Maho gagged.

"YES! GO ZARC!" Ray cheered, sticking her tongue out at Leo playfully, who rolled his eyes in response.

Shogeki grimaced. "Well, it seems that you've summoned out your last-ditch save monster. I was hoping to end the duel before he came out."

"What can I say?" Zarc asked sarcastically. "No duel is complete without Astrograph Sorcerer!"

"Well…I was hoping that I wouldn't have to resort to this, but it looks like I'm going to have to go for a gamble!" Shogeki declared. "I activate the Spell Card, **Panning for Gold**!"

A spell card showing Infernity Dwarf engaging in gold panning appeared onto the field, as Shogeki explained its power.

"To use this card, I have to banish a card from my graveyard and then target 1 Rock-Type monster in my graveyard. If I draw a card that is the same type of card as the one I banished, then I can Special Summon that Rock-Type monster to the field in Defense Position! If I don't however, I take damage equal to half of the ATK of the Rock-Type monster I targeted."

"A sink-or-swim card then?" Zarc asked.

"Go big or go home." Shogeki admitted. "Against your bag of tricks, I need just as many to counter it. I banish my Sphinx Dust Spell Card and then target Purashamsphinx!"

Sphinx Dust re-emerged, and turned into a golden aura that seemed to shift between that color and brown, taking the spectral form of Purashamsphinx who looked down as Shogeki drew his card.

Zarc, Ray, everyone in the audience held their breath as Shogeki held the card in his hand, not looking at it. He then analyzed what he'd drawn…

And smiled.

"I drew **Sphinx Block** , a Spell Card!" Shogeki revealed triumphantly. "This means that Purashamsphinx will be revived!"

The ground began to shake, and the enormous lion statue crawled onto the field, staring disdainfully at Astrograph Sorcerer, as if the Spellcaster was some kind of disgusting pest that even a cat would not want to eat.

 **Purashamsphinx/EARTH/Level 8/Rock/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 3000**

"Now…normally Purashamsphinx wouldn't be able to attack since it's in Defense Position, but the card I drew will remediate that problem!" Shogeki revealed, slipping the last card in his hand into his duel disk. "I activate the Equip Spell Card, Sphinx Block!"

A rainbow colored aura surrounded Purashamsphinx, who merely yawned, simply not caring and just waiting for the order to pounce.

"Sphinx Block allows a Defense Position 'sphinx' monster to attack while in Defense Position!" Shogeki said. "Purashamsphinx, attack Astrograph Sorcerer! Giant sphinx claw!"

Purashamsphinx yawned, before swatting at Astrograph Sorcerer nonchalantly, cutting the magician to ribbons as he disintegrated into particles. Astrograph Sorcerer seemed to have barely registered the massive monster's attack before he disappeared.

 **Zarc LP: 1900**

"When Astrograph Sorcerer is destroyed, I can target Odd-Eyes in my graveyard and Special Summon him! Come on back Odd-Eyes!" Zarc cried out.

A swirling portal of rainbow colored lights opened up and Odd-Eyes leaped back onto the field, roaring in defiance.

 **Odd-Eyes Dragon/DARK/Level 7/Dragon/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000**

"So you aren't wide open for Noranairsphinx." Shogeki shrugged. "I will activate the effects of my three Sphinxes and put them in face-down Defense Position. When Purashamsphinx does so, Sphinx Block's other effect activates. Instead of sending it to the graveyard, I return it to my hand and inflict damage equal to Purashamsphinx's Level times 100. Purashamsphinx is Level 8, so that's 800 damage to you."

True to its name, eight orange bricks made of energy appeared, and shot themselves at Zarc, who put his arms up to defend himself as he struggled against the assault. Roaring as the last brick impacted, Zarc stood upright, panting, not willing to give in.

 **Zarc LP: 1100**

"Turn End." Shogeki said.

"It seems that we have finally reached the climax!" Ichiro bellowed. "Will Zarc be able to pull off another comeback, or will Shogeki be victorious?"

"Well…you never know how a duel is going to end until it actually does end." Zarc grimaced, staring at Odd-Eyes and looking at Shogeki's set monsters. There was one strategy he had that could win him the duel…but the question was if he could draw that card.

"True." Shogeki said solemnly. "You never know how a situation or plan will truly play out until you actually do it."

"…I take it that that's your apology?" Zarc asked.

"Let's just see how the duel will end, okay?" Shogeki smirked.

Zarc gave a mischievous grin. "Yeah…I DRAW!" he cried out, pulling out the top card of his deck with a flourish.

The audience kept silent. For the right reasons this time. Zarc slowly brought the card up to his eyes, and read over it carefully. For a few seconds, everything was quiet, even the announcer. Then… Zarc smiled.

"Here it is!" he declared. "I activate the Spell Card, Dragon's Mirror!"

"…Oh crap." Shogeki said simply as the Fusion portal began to form.

"Dragon's Mirror lets me banish monsters from my field or graveyard to Fusion Summon a new Dragon-Type monster from my Extra Deck! Now, the monster I want to summon specifically needs Dragon-Types…which admittedly, I only have one of on my field right now…but the fun part about Dragonarcs is that whether on the field or graveyard, they all have the spirits of dragons within them!"

"Which means?" Leo asked, confused by Zarc's wording.

"It means that his monsters are all treated as Dragons while on the field or in the graveyard." Ray revealed.

"I fuse together Dragonarc Magician and Dragonarc Onlooker!" Zarc declared, causing the two monsters to transform into red and yellow light respectively, which mixed together into orange.

" _Mage who controls the essence of fire, seer gazing into the spirit world, come together in a flaming embrace and unleash the ancient soul! Fusion Summon! Come forth! Level 8,_ _ **Dragonarc Influencer**_ _!"_

Zarc's new monster seemed influenced in of itself, having scales similar to Odd-Eyes, but colored purple instead. It also had actual wings, with three gems embedded on the wing-bones. The wing on the right had gems colored red, blue, and yellow, while the wing on the left had gems colored green, purple, and orange. The dragon had long, skeletal arms, and spiral-patterned eyes. It beat its wings furiously, and gave a majestic roar, revealing the Dragonarc Emblem on its white chest.

 **Dragonarc Influencer/WATER/Level 8/Dragon/Effect/ATK: 2700/DEF: 2100**

"I activate Influencer's effect! If he's Fusion Summoned using only 'Dragonarc' monsters, I can add two of them from my graveyard to my hand! I choose Dragonarc Howler and Dragonarc Knight!" Zarc explained.

Influencer roared, and opened its claws, revealing two orbs filled with a water liquid embedded in the palms. Shogeki saw the silhouettes of a wolf and a knight, each of whom briefly took on the form of a dragon, before the shadows turned into light, and shot into Zarc's graveyard, allowing him to retrieve the former materials of Paladin.

"Now I'm ready!" Zarc roared. "I'll start by activating Dragonarc Howler as a Continuous Spell Card, triggering Influencer's other effect! I can destroy 1 card on the field! I pick Sphinx Labyrinth, to start off with! Influenced Harpoon!"

As the Dragonarc Emblem manifested, a dark blue aura entered Influencer, who roared, unveiling its harpoon-shaped tail in the process. The harpoon charged with blue electricity, and fired a bolt of lightning at Shogeki's Trap Card.

"And now, I'll activate this effect again! By activating Dragonarc Knight as a Continuous Spell Card, I destroy the set Noranairsphinx! Influenced Harpoon!"

Shogeki watched helpless as Noranairsphinx revealed himself…only to be shocked with a bolt of lightning. Despite the shock, Noranairsphinx merely grunted before dissolved.

"Since I destroyed a monster, that means that Influencer can give ATK equal to half of the destroyed monster to another Dragon I control! I choose to give Odd-Eyes that benefit, which amounts to 1000 additional ATK!" Zarc explained.

Influencer roared, gathering blue energy in its palms before passing that energy over to Odd-Eyes as if it was anointing the smaller dragon. Odd-Eyes roared as well as it felt the power surging through it.

 **Odd-Eyes Dragon/ATK: 3500**

"And now, the final piece of the puzzle!" Zarc declared triumphantly. "I activate the Spell effect of Dragonarc Knight! Once per turn, he can give a Dragon monster I control piercing damage!"

Shogeki watched, tempted to laugh heartily as Knight's spectral form emerge from his emblem and place its sword upon Odd-Eyes as if he was knighting the dragon himself. Knight then transformed into a shadowed draconic image and retreated to his emblem, causing Odd-Eyes to roar again.

"It's over, Shogeki! Odd-Eyes, attack the set Purashamsphinx! SPIRAL FLAME!" Zarc ordered.

Odd-Eyes leaped into the air and fired at the set monster. Purashamsphinx climbed into face-up Defense Position, and saw the flames rushing towards it. The massive lion merely blinked as the fire crashed into it, dissolving the behemoth.

 **Shogeki LP: 1250**

"And now, Odd-Eyes' monster effect! REACTION FORCE!" Zarc declared.

Shogeki barely managed to stay on his feet as the shockwave of the attack rushed through his side of the field, kneeling down after the end of it. He gave a rueful smile at that, but was content.

 **Shogeki LP: 0**

 **WINNER: ZARC**

"AND WITH THAT, ZARC WINS!" Ichiro bellowed.

"ZARC! ZARC! ZARC!" The audience cheered.

"ZARC! ZARC! ZARC!" Aiyo and Maho applauded.

"ZARC! ZARC! ZARC!" Ray cried, jumping up and pumping her fist in triumph. "IN YO' FACE OLD MAN!"

"Why me..." Leo mumbled as he regretted entering that deal with his daughter. She took after her mother in that aspect.

* * *

As the contestants for the next duel began to prepare themselves, Ray's group had rejoined with Zarc. Ray had explained what had happened with her father, who remained seated at a concessions table sullenly, all while Shogeki was bowing on the floor.

"I'M SORRY!" He cried out. "I DID NOT MEAN FOR ANY OF THAT TO HAPPEN!"

"Raise your head Shogeki." Zarc said, shaking his own. "Didn't you say I needed more confidence? Well congratulations, you succeeded…by having me utterly trash you in a duel!"

Shogeki sighed and got up, but bowed his head to Ray in shame. "If I was being insensitive concerning…that…I…I am sorry Ray! I shouldn't have done that!"

"At least you showed regret for it." Ray replied sternly.

"Yeah…and you still need to know that that 'plan' you made was stupid." Aiyo said. "How's 'bout after Maho and I get done dueling for the day, lunch is on you for the next week?"

"…Acceptable terms!" Shogeki declared. "Again, I'm so, so, sorry!"

"On the bright side though…" Ray said mischievously, looking at Zarc happily, who blushed as he realized what had just happened.

"Oh..oh…um?" Zarc stumbled, only for Ray to take his hand and kiss him right on the cheek.

Zarc's face went redder than Odd-Eyes' scales, which really didn't help since Zarc swore that he could hear Odd-Eyes unleashing the equivalent of a dragon laughing in his card form and the quiet amused chuckling of the normally stoic Astrograph Sorcerer. He sighed…contentedly however. The day had started off good, taken a bit of a nosedive, and then drastically improved. All in all, Zarc could say that it was a good day overall.

"Alright." Aiyo said, stretching. "Guess it'll be time for us to…"

There was a beeping noise coming from Aiyo's phone, interrupting her. Eyebrows raised, she turned it on to look at her notifications…before furrowing her eyebrows in though…and then groaned.

"What? What is it?" Ray asked.

"There's only one duel left today." Aiyo moaned. "All of the others have been canceled because of all of the no-shows!"

"…So..we're not on?" Maho asked.

"No." Aiyo said. "The last duel for today doesn't include us."

"Ah." Maho said calmly.

All was silent for a few moments…before Maho crashed onto the ground.

"MAHO!" everyone screamed in horror, gathering around the brunette…only to hear her snoring loudly.

"…Ugh. Shogeki, help me carry Maho home." Aiyo grumbled.

"Yes, ma'am." Shogeki nodded, picking up Maho.

"We'll see you guys later." Aiyo said, sullenly walking out of the Duel Dome along with Shogeki and the now-snoring Maho.

"See ya!" Ray waved.

Leo looked down at his tablet, and walked over to the newly official couple, staring hard at Zarc, who gulped as Leo came towards him.

"I need to stay here for a little while. I need to monitor this last duel for my research." He explained. "I trust that you two will stay out of trouble?"

"Yes sir!" Zarc saluted.

Leo grunted, and then left.

"…So…" Zarc mumbled. "What now?"

Ray winked at Zarc. "Well, I didn't really have much breakfast today, so I think we should stop by one of the cafes for lunch. I'm starving."

Zarc raised an eyebrow. "But there's food here…"

"Yeah…But it's really expensive, and I don't think you want to empty out your wallet, right?" Ray asked.

"Well, yeah…I…wait…" Zarc started.

But he never got very far, before Ray dragged him out of the arena and towards her D-Wheel. Today was going to be a great day. Nothing could change, or threaten that, as far as Ray was concerned. And Zarc, while flustered, was honestly excited. Yeah. Nothing in the world could ruin the day. Nothing whatsoever.

* * *

"Well…I think I made a pretty good haul, don't you think?" a man wearing a black cloak said to his companion.

The companion in question also wore a cloak, albeit his was a pristine white, contrasting that of his partner. Both men were sitting in a dark room, lit up only by a few computer screens, making it so that their features could not be identified, save for Kurose's snake-scale markings. The white-cloaked man was studying the cards that his associate had brought them. Duel Monster cards with Normal Monster borders…all of which had the faces of numerous duelists within their picture frames, except for one, which instead had an unshaven face and large, worn-out hat.

The man in the white cloak sighed. "Well, I don't think obtaining a hobo counts as a good haul…but I must say, you've managed quite the achievement Kurose. You got half of the duelists who were going to that Duel Stadium today. Not bad. Miss Lamia was right to recommend for this mission, your reputation was clearly earned."

"I do my best." Kurose snickered.

"That being said…obtaining so many duelists in such a short amount of time does risk drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves. It's a bad thing for an assassin to attract attention to themselves." The white-cloak said.

"It's a risk you have to take once you're actually in the field, Siber. Unlike you, I don't coop myself up in a hacker cave all day. I actually go out and get stuff done." Kurose replied.

"Perhaps, but you forget I am the one who sends these cards to our organization's informant, and I am the one who helps keep the authorities off your back by hacking into their systems and leading them onto a wild goose chase." Siber argued. "Someone needs to stay here and hold down the fort anyways."

"I guess." Kurose said, shrugging his shoulders. "So, who's our next target?"

"You will have to wait to learn of that." Siber replied. "If word gets out on serial disappearing's of duelists, then our operation risks exposure. For now, I would recommend that you simply blend in the populace. You'll find out what the next stage of the mission is in due time."

"Hmph, fine." Kurose grumbled, getting up from the chair he'd been sitting on and walking out of the room.

As he exited, Kurose heard a fierce growling in his mind. He knew what that hunger was, and he soothed the beast who was behind it.

"Patience, my pet. Patience. You will have your fill eventually." he chuckled quietly.

Ah, Crescent City. Kurose had a great feeling about this city. Nothing in the world could ruin his time here. Nothing.

* * *

 **Author-Made/Modified Cards**

 _ **Monsters**_

 **Zarc**

 **Astrograph Sorcerer/DARK/Level 7/Spellcaster/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000**

If a card(s) you control is destroyed while this card is in your hand: You can target one of the destroyed card(s); Special Summon this card and return the targeted card from your GY or banished zone to your hand. If this card you control leaves the field, Special Summon 1 Dragon monster from your GY, and if the summoned monster is "Odd-Eyes Dragon", "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon", "Clear Wing Synchro Dragon", or "Starving Venom Fusion Dragon", it cannot be destroyed by card effects. You can only activate the effect of "Astrograph Sorcerer" once per turn. You can only control 1 "Astrograph Sorcerer".

 **Dragonarc Mandragora/DARK/Level 2/Plant/Effect/ATK: 400/DEF: 800**

This card face-up on the field or in the GY is also treated as a Dragon monster. Once per turn, you can activate this card from your hand as a Continuous Spell Card. This card face-up in your Spell/Trap Zone gains this effect: Once per turn, you can target 1 "Dragonarc" monster you control, that target can attack twice this Battle Phase. Once per turn, you can target 2 "Dragonarc" Spell Cards that were originally monsters, if this card's Level is between the original Level of the selected cards, Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card you control leaves the field, add 1 "Dragonarc" monster from your deck to your hand.

 **Dragonarc Onlooker/DARK/Level 7/Psychic/Effect/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1800**

This card face-up on the field or in the GY is also treated as a Dragon monster. Once per turn, you can activate this card from your hand as a Continuous Spell Card. This card face-up in your Spell/Trap Zone gains this effect: If a face-up "Dragonarc" monster(s) you control is destroyed by battle, Special Summon this card from your Spell/Trap Zone. Once per turn, you can target 2 "Dragonarc" Spell Cards that were originally monsters, if this card's Level is between the original Level of the selected cards, Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card in your Monster Zone is destroyed, add 1 monster whose Type is the same as this card's from your GY to your hand.

 **Dragonarc Behepo/EARTH/Level 3/Beast/Effect/ATK: 800/DEF: 800**

This card face-up on the field is also treated as a Dragon monster. Once per turn, you can activate this card from your hand as a Continuous Spell Card. This card face-up in your Spell/Trap Zone gains this effect: Once per turn, you can Special Summon 1 Dragon monster from your hand, but its Level must be between that of two "Dragonarc" monsters you control (Target these monsters). Once per turn, you can target 2 "Dragonarc" Spell Cards that were originally monsters, if this card's Level is between the Level of the selected cards, Special Summon this card from your hand. If this monster is Special Summoned via this effect, add 1 Dragon Monster from your deck or GY to your hand.

 **Dragonarc Soldier/DARK/Level 4/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1400**

This card face-up on the field or in the GY is also treated as a Dragon monster. Once per turn, you can activate this card from your hand as a Continuous Spell Card. This card face-up in your Spell/Trap zone gains this effect: All Dragon-Type monsters you control gain 300 ATK. Once per turn, you can target 2 "Dragonarc" Spell Cards that were originally monsters, if this card's Level is between the original Level of the selected cards, Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is Special Summoned in this way, it gains 400 ATK and DEF.

 **Dragonarc Ethernaut/WIND/Level 3/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1100/DEF: 1000**

This card face-up on the field is also treated as a Dragon monster. Once per turn, you can activate this card from your hand as a Continuous Spell Card. This card face-up in your Spell/Trap Zone gains this effect: If a "Dragonarc" monster is Special Summoned from your hand, Special Summon this card from your Spell/Trap Zone. Once per turn, you can target 2 "Dragonarc" Spell Cards that were originally monsters, if this card's Level is between the Level of the selected cards, Special Summon this card from your hand. If this monster is Special Summoned via its own effect, draw 1 card.

 **Dragonarc Wyvern/FIRE/Level 6/Wyrm/Effect/ATK: 2300/DEF: 1400**

This card face-up on the field is also treated as a Dragon monster. Once per turn, you can activate this card from your hand as a Continuous Spell Card. This card face-up in your Spell/Trap zone gains this effect: Once per turn, if you Special Summon a "Dragonarc" monster via its own effect, destroy 1 card your opponent controls. Once per turn, you can target 2 "Dragonarc" Spell Cards that were originally monsters, if this card's Level is between the Level of the selected cards, Special Summon this card from your hand. If this monster is Special Summoned via this effect, target 1 card your opponent controls, destroy it.

 **Dragonarc Knight/DARK/Level 4/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1300**

This card face-up on the field or GY is also treated as a Dragon monster. Once per turn, you can activate this card from your hand as a Continuous Spell Card. This card face-up in your Spell/Trap Zone gains this effect: Once per turn, target 1 monster your opponent controls, it loses 800 DEF. Once per turn, you can target 2 "Dragonarc" Spell Cards that were originally monsters, if this card's Level is between the Level of the selected cards, Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card Special Summoned via this effect battles an opponent's Defense Position monster, inflict piercing damage to your opponent.

 **Dragonarc Howler/DARK/Level 4/Beast/Effect/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1100**

This card face-up on the field is also treated as a Dragon monster. Once per turn, you can activate this card from your hand as a Continuous Spell Card. This card face-up in your Spell/Trap Zone gains this effect: If a "Dragonarc" monster you control is destroyed, either by battle or by card effect, you can Special Summon this card from your Spell/Trap Zone. Once per turn, you can target 2 "Dragonarc" Spell Cards that were originally monsters, if this card's Level is between the Level of the selected cards, Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is Special Summoned via this effect, draw 1 card.

 **Dragonarc Paladin/DARK/Rank 4/Warrior/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1900**

2 Level 4 monsters

This face-up card on the field and in your GY is also treated as a Dragon monster. Once per turn, if either player takes damage, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, target 1 Dragon monster you control, it gains ATK equal to the inflicted battle damage; also have it automatically battle with a monster your opponent controls.

 **Dragonarc Influencer/WATER/Level 8/Dragon/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2700/DEF: 2100**

2 Dragon Monsters

If this card's Fusion Materials were all "Dragonarc" monsters, target up to 2 "Dragonarc" monsters in your GY, add them to your hand. Twice per turn, during your Main Phase 1, if a Spell Card is activated, target 1 card on the field, destroy it, and if that card was a monster, you can target 1 other Dragon monster you control, it gains ATK equal to half of the ATK of the destroyed monster, however, you cannot target the same monster twice with this effect.

 **Shogeki**

 **Sanskrisphinx/EARTH/Level 3/Rock/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1500**

If you do not control any monsters, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. If a Set "sphinx" card you control would be destroyed, either by battle or card effect, you can banish this card from your GY; reveal that card to your opponent, negate its destruction. For the rest of this turn, the card whose destruction was negated cannot be destroyed, either by battle or by card effect.

 **Noranairsphinx/EARTH/Level 6/Rock/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2400**

If this Set card is destroyed by your opponent's card effect, Special Summon it in face-down Defense Position. Once per turn, you can change this card to face-down Defense Position. If this monster is Flip Summoned, destroy up to 2 cards your opponent controls. If this face-up card on the field is sent to the GY (Either by battle or card effect), add 1 "sphinx" card from your deck or GY to your hand.

 **Tamilsphinx/EARTH/Level 4/Rock/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2000**

If this monster is Normal or Special Summoned, add 1 "sphinx" card from your deck to your hand. Once per turn, you can flip this card into face-down Defense Position. If this monster is Flip Summoned, Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "sphinx" monster from your deck in face-down Defense Position, except for "Tamilsphinx".

 **Palisphinx/EARTH/Level 3/Rock/Effect/ATK: 1100/DEF: 1200**

Once per turn, you can change this card to face-down Defense Position. If this card is Flip Summoned, target 1 Level 6 or lower "sphinx" monster in your GY, except for "Palisphinx"; Special Summon it in face-down Defense Position. If this card is flipped face-up, increase its DEF by 800.

 **Purashamsphinx/EARTH/Level 8/Rock/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 3000**

During either player's battle phase, you can tribute 2 "sphinx" monsters you control, Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card battles an opponent's monster, neither player can activate Spell/Trap cards until the end of the damage step. Once per turn, during either player's turn, you can flip this card into face-down Defense Position. When this card is Flip Summoned, destroy either all of your opponent's monsters or all of your opponent's Spell/Trap cards.

 _ **Spells**_

 **Zarc**

 **Dragonarc Shatterpoint/Normal**

Destroy 1 face-up "Dragonarc" monster that is treated as a Continuous Spell Card you control, then target 1 "Dragonarc" monster in your GY with a different name as that of the destroyed card. Place that target in your Spell/Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell Card. You can only activate 1 "Dragonarc Shatterpoint" once per turn.

 **Dragonarc Return/Normal**

Target 5 "Dragonarc" monsters in your GY, shuffle those targets into your deck, then draw 2 cards. You can only activate 1 "Dragonarc Return" once per turn.

 **Dragonarc Flash/Quick-Play**

Activate only if a card on the field is destroyed while you control a face-up "Dragonarc" card. Destroy 1 card your opponent controls and then draw 1 card. You can only activate 1 "Dragonarc Rage" per turn.

 **Shogeki**

 **Sphinx Shade Draw/Normal**

Target 1 Set card you control and reveal it to your opponent. If the revealed card is a "sphinx" card, draw 2 cards from your deck. Also, the targeted card is unaffected by your opponent's card effects as long as it remains face-down on the field. You can only activate 1 "Sphinx Shade Draw" once per turn.

 **Sphinx Action/Continuous**

Once per turn, during your Main Phase 1 or 2, you can confirm a Set "sphinx" monster you control during the turn that card was Summoned or Set in face-down Defense Position or changed to face-down Defense Position. Then, Flip Summon the confirmed monster. If a "sphinx" monster you control battles an opponent's monster, negate the effect of that monster. You can only activate the effect of "Sphinx Action" once per turn.

 **Sphinx Block/Equip**

Equip only to a "sphinx" monster. The equipped monster can attack while in Defense Position, in which case, apply its DEF for damage calculation. If this card is destroyed when the "sphinx" monster this card is equipped to is changed to face-down Defense Position, return this card to your hand instead of sending it to the GY and inflict damage to your opponent equal to half of the equipped monster's DEF.

 **Sphinx Dust/Quick-Play**

Target 1 face-up "sphinx" monster you control that was flipped face-up this turn, draw 1 card.

 **Panning For Gold/Normal**

Banish 1 card from your GY and then target 1 Rock Monster in your GY. Draw 1 card. If the drawn card is the same type of card as the one that was banished (Monster, Spell, Trap), Special Summon the targeted Rock Monster from your GY.

 _ **Traps**_

 **Zarc**

 **Dragonarc Twist/Normal**

If a "Dragonarc" monster you control is destroyed by battle, return that monster to your hand, also you take no battle damage from battles involving Dragon monsters you control. If this card is in your GY, during either player's turn, target 1 "Dragonarc" monster is summoned via its own effect, target 1 Dragon monster in your GY whose Level is either 1 Level higher or 1 Level lower than the targeted "Dragonarc" monster, and Special Summon it. You can only activate 1 "Dragonarc Twist" per turn.

 **Shogeki**

 **Sphinx Aura/Continuous**

If this Set card is destroyed by a card effect, activate 1 "Sphinx Aura" from your deck. If a "sphinx" monster you control is flipped face-up due to battle, treat that monster as if it has been Flip Summoned. You take no piercing damage while this card is face-up on the field.

 **Sphinx Labyrinth/Continuous**

As long as this card remains face-up on the field, choose the target of your opponent's attacks for the battle phase. If a "sphinx" monster(s) you control is destroyed, either by battle or by card effect, during your opponent's turn, draw 1 card for each. If you control a face-up monster that is not a "sphinx" monster, destroy this card.

 **Sphinx Force/Normal**

Target any number of face-up "sphinx" monsters you control. Change those targets to face-down Defense Position. Then, target a number of cards your opponent controls, Set those targets face-down (If a monster is targeted, it is changed to face-down Defense Position).

* * *

 **So...thoughts on what you've read? Leave a review and let me know!**

 **-Epsilon Tarantula**


	4. The Years Gone By

**I was hoping to get this out earlier...but college popped up and demanded a more productive usage of my time. At least this chapter doesn't have a duel in it.**

 **Let us enjoy this chapter, probably the closest thing to a collection of connected one-shots I've ever written, all shoved into a singular chapter in a story that has always held the same name ever since its inception!**

 **Again, I don't own Yugioh ARC-V or any Yugioh series. If I did, I'd have made VRAINS more like Serial Experiments Lain.**

* * *

 _Omen of Uncertainty_

Act I – Scene 3: The Years Gone By

 _June 6, 2041_

It was a warm, peaceful summer day in Crescent City. People were out and about minding their own business. Some were out with their families for quality time, some were on their own talking on their cell phones or looking up their notifications, and yet some others were heading back to the office after a late lunch.

Right now, in a park floating on a small, specially designed Laputa Module, not much could be said to be going on besides these aforementioned activities. The only really noteworthy event was that some children from the Aleksey Home, a local orphanage, had come on a small trip to the park. One of these children, a six-year old silver-haired boy, had pulled out a duel disk and accompanying D-Gazer, and challenged other children to duel him…and had been on a 4-0 winning streak until a girl his age with maroon hair appeared and…

"Duel me next!" she cried out, pulling out her child-sized duel disk and D-Gazer.

"Heh, sure, just make sure that you don't lose quickly!" the boy smirked. "I've been unmatched all day, and there's no way that a girl is going to beat me that easily!"

"Oooh!" several of the children snickered.

The smile remained on the little girls' face…but a dark shadow seemed to have come over it, which made it seem more ominous than any other face of rage. The boy felt a tad nervous upon seeing the girl quietly activate her duel disk, but was confident that he could defeat her.

The boy was surprised. The girl he was dueling played much more ferociously and strategically than his other opponents. Just when he thought that he had her cornered by summoning his ace monster, Odd-Eyes Dragon…the girl had activated Magic Cylinder and won the duel.

"Damn it!" the boy pouted, pounding his small fists into the ground before the girl walked up to him with a triumphant smirk on her face.

"Heh." She laughed, folding her arms superiorly.

"One more game!" the boy cried.

"Okay!" the girl replied.

At first, the match went about a tad more evenly than before. But much to the boy's surprise, the girl managed to weed his field of monsters bit by bit, and by the time the boy thought he'd obtained a strong field that would win him the duel on the next turn, the girl top-decked Raigeki and summoned her own army of monsters, and reduced the boy's LP to zero for a second time.

"Oh come on!" the boy cried, ripping off his D-Gazer and looking down sullenly.

"What was that about me not being able to beat you easily?" the girl smirked as she removed her own D-Gazer.

"Fine…I take it back." The boy pouted.

The crowd of children, losing interest, left to pursue other activities. Some left to duel each other, while others took the opportunity to run around like little children in a park tend to do. Soon, only the silver-haired boy and the maroon-haired girl were left. The silver-haired boy lay down on the grass and closed his eyes, no longer in the mood to move up and about like the other children.

After a moment of silence, the girl spoke up.

"So…what's your name?" she asked.

"Um…I…uh…" the boy stuttered, opening his eyes with a start. The girl was still there? "Um…uh…"

"What's wrong?" the girl asked innocently.

"I uh…don't like saying my name…the others...think it's dumb." The boy mumbled.

"Oh, come on! My name's Ray! Now does that sound dumb?" Ray asked.

"…It sounds like Rei…" the boy mumbled. "That's a name."

Ray put her hands on her hips and looked down on the boy, who was now sitting up and looking nothing like the confident challenger that he was at the start. "But my name isn't Rei! It sounds like it, but it isn't! Daddy says that it's a homonym!"

"What's a homonim?" The boy asked.

"It's a word that sounds like something else!" Ray said, cheeks puffing up with pride.

"Oh…" the boy mumbled, still not willing to say his name.

"Come on! Tell me! I promise I won't laugh!" Ray said.

The silver-haired boy looked at Ray, and sighed. Plenty of children made fun of his name already. One more wouldn't hurt…okay, it would still hurt, but at least she didn't live at the orphanage. She wouldn't be around 24/7 to mock him.

"It's Zarc." He said quietly.

"Zarc?" Ray asked.

"Yes…" Zarc mumbled.

"Why is your name Zarc?" Ray asked again.

"Apparently, when the orphanage found me…there were letters on my blanket." Zarc said, walking over to a sandbox and drawing what he had been shown. Ray watched as Zarc picked up a stick and wrote 'Z-ARC' in the sand. "I didn't have anything else with me besides my deck, so they just decided to call me 'Zarc'."

Ray studied the English letters as Zarc prepared to hear her laugh at him. He was surprised when instead, Ray turned to him with a cheerful smile on her face.

"Okay! Nice to meet you then, Zarc!" she said, beaming.

"Y-you don't think my name's stupid?" Zarc asked, dumbfounded.

"It's unusual…" Ray admitted, causing Zarc to cringe, expecting taunts to come at last, "but it's not stupid!"

Zarc snapped to attention. "Really?"

"Sure!" Ray confirmed.

"ROWAR!" A dragonic voice growled out, as if responding to Ray's declaration in affirmation.

Ray stood frozen in place, paling at what she thought she heard. She looked around in a fright, while Zarc seemed confused at Ray's reaction.

"D-did you hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what?" Zarc asked, even though he knew exactly what he had heard.

"Th-that sounded like a dragon just now!" Ray exclaimed, before recognizing the sound. "The dragon you played in our duel!"

"Y-you can hear Odd-Eyes?" Zarc asked, taking out his deck and pulling the monster card out.

Ray puffed up her cheeks and nodded fiercely, causing the roar to occur again. When Ray looked up, her eyes widened as she saw Odd-Eyes hovering above Zarc like a transparent ghost.

"There! Up there!" Ray stammered, causing Zarc to look up in a way that suggested that he was used to it.

"You can see him?" Zarc asked.

"Yes!" Ray said, causing Odd-Eyes to roar. "And I can hear him! What's going on?"

Zarc sighed. "I don't know. I've always asked why I can hear Odd-Eyes and Astrograph Sorcerer…but the other kids think I'm crazy and the people running the orphanage think that I'm confusing all of the rumors about the Legendary Duelists for reality."

Ray looked at Odd-Eyes nervously…and put out her hand tentatively. Unfortunately, it merely passed through Odd-Eyes' translucent beak. She was fascinated by the marvel in front of her...she'd heard voices in her own deck, but she'd never been able to identify which monster was potentially speaking and had never actually seen the monsters appear in front of her. This was a major first.

" _Fascinating…"_ a deep, quiet, stoic voice said.

Ray blinked as a second translucent apparition manifested above Zarc. This one looked human, except his skin was blue and his body and cape seemed to be made out of stars. His face was covered with a mask, so Ray couldn't tell if he was smiling or not.

"A-and you are?" she asked hesitantly.

"Astrograph Sorcerer." The duel monster replied. "I must say, it is a rarity to meet another duelist who can see us duel spirits, let alone hear them." He then looked down at the still moping Zarc. "You should be friends with her Zarc, she'd make much better company than those…uh…" Astrograph looked at some of the children running around the park. A group of them had begun roughhousing in a patch of recently watered grass and were getting covered in mud. "Other children".

"Of course, we should be friends!" Ray said, clamping Zarc's hand, flustering the boy even more. "It's not worth going through life if you don't have anyone close to you!"

"U-um…" Zarc mumbled nervously.

"Ray! Time to go!" a woman's voice called out.

The two children turned around to see a magenta-haired woman and tan-skinned man with short hair gesturing for their daughter to return to them.

"I'll see you later!" Ray called out.

"W-wait, later?" Zarc asked.

"Of course, dummy! If you want to play again, just come back here when you can! My family comes here once a week like we did today!" Ray called out as she ran towards her parents.

"…Okay." The boy mumbled, feeling a warmth in his chest. He looked up at Astrograph Sorcerer, who seemed to be nodding in approval, while Odd-Eyes looked like a dog who sensed that his master was happy.

A friend, eh? That…that was new.

* * *

 _September 13, 2044_

"So…you don't look very happy today, Zarc." Ray said as she took Zarc by the hand as they settled down on a park bench.

"I know…" Zarc sighed.

Ray noticed that even after three years, the times when Zarc would sink into a melancholic sigh never really seemed to go away. It was honestly saddening how easily he could get depressed…but then again, perhaps it was stupid for Ray to assume that Zarc would be happy. He had recently been turned down for adoption again. According to Zarc, it was because he had blurted out that he could see and hear Duel Spirits…which had turned out to be a very bad thing to say to a rather religious family who had come to the orphanage earlier that day. They had immediately rejected Zarc and moved on to the next child.

The only reason Zarc wasn't completely depressed was because every other child previewed by that couple had also been rejected, so he could at least take solace at how the other children at the orphanage were miserable.

Ray wondered how people could be so callous and uncaring. She remembered the reign of terror that a blond-haired boy at her school had caused. The boy, whose name was Moetsu was cruel, mean, vindictive, and had made everyone afraid to duel during recess, and much to Ray's chagrin, he had managed to defeat even her. It didn't help that duel disks had gone back to solid vision, with the metallic blades being replaced by ones made of hard light. It meant that his attacks felt more realistic and downright dangerous, not unlike some duels in the pro-leagues many years ago. Not even the hyperactive Shogeki stood a chance against Moetsu. She was glad that the bully had moved to another school. It meant that Ray, Maho, and the new girl, Aiyo; would never have to deal with him again.

She wondered why adults had to be so cruel sometimes too.

"Cheer up, Zarc!" Ray comforted. "Maybe I can convince mommy to adopt you!"

Zarc's eyes widened incredulously and in disbelief, not even daring to hope at what Ray had just suggested.

"R-really?" he asked, not daring to even hope.

"I mean…I asked daddy once, but he said that we didn't have enough money. But mommy's out on a really important business trip! She said that we'd have a lot more money when she gets back! Maybe mommy and daddy will want to adopt you then!" Ray replied. "It'll be like we're brother and sister!"

Zarc blushed, flustered at Ray's proposal.

Ray smiled at Zarc…but then saw her father walk over to them in a rather funny way. He seemed tired for some reason. Why would he be tired? It was still daytime. When Leo got to the two children, he wet his lips nervously, pocketed his cell phone, and looked down at them.

"Ray…I…Just…come back home with me." He said.

"But we just got here!" Ray whined.

"I'm sorry, but we have to leave." Leo said hoarsely. "Something bad happened in Shirogane."

Ray swore she could feel her heart stop for a moment. Shirogane. That was where her mother was right now. What happened?

"S-something bad?" Ray asked nervously.

"Fire…there was an…explosion…a bombing…Himika was…" Leo muttered. "J-just, we need to go home."

A great deal of fear began to manifest in Ray. "O-okay." she complied. "Um, bye Zarc."

"B-bye." Zarc said, waving goodbye.

Zarc watched Leo stagger out of the park, with Ray trudging along behind him. It seemed that everyone was having their hopes crushed these days.

* * *

 _September 14, 2044_

Ray woke up with a start. It had all been a dream. It just had to be a dream. Mommy was still in Shirogane on a business meeting. There hadn't been any scary explosions. There wasn't any fire that Ray swore took on the face of a demon at times. The sudden, violent screaming that cut into the broadcast at times had never happened. Yeah, it was all just a dream. She got up hesitantly and walked into the living room. Just a dream. Just a dream. It was all just a dream.

Except it wasn't.

Ray looked at Leo, who had fallen asleep on the couch listlessly. The holographic television screen was still turned on. Still turned on…and the woman on the screen continued to talk.

" _Still no words as to what motivated the mysterious attack on Shirogane yesterday. The official death toll is 8,410, and is likely to increase in the following days. Investigators believe that the cause may have been due to civil unrest caused by a noted increase in income divide, which has plagued the town's local economy for several years now. Others are pointing out how the attack is eerily similar to –"_

Ray turned off the hologram. There wasn't any need to talk about more scary things.

Leo woke up from the couch, and turned around, and much like his daughter, hoped that the events of yesterday were just a nightmare. Yes, Himika was still at the Hotel Shikin. She hadn't been killed in an overly destructive bombing.

"Good morning, Ray." Leo said.

"Daddy…what they said on the news." Ray mumbled.

"It's okay. It's going to be okay. Himika is okay. Himika is okay. Himika is okay." Leo began to rant.

"But, they said 8,000 dead…" Ray said, tearing up.

"Himika is okay…Himika…Himika…" Leo murmured quietly…before switching to mourning silence.

Death…despair…it seemed that it was everywhere…

* * *

 _September 20, 2044_

For an entire week, Ray had avoided the living room. It seemed that the holographic news features just would not shut up about the violence in Shirogane. Ray had hoped beyond hope that Himika was just injured…but the fact that the Hotel Shikin had been completely collapsed not unlike the Twin Towers had during that attack in America 43 years ago put that hope to bed.

Perhaps Zarc could comfort her…she'd done the same for him…maybe he'd return the favor? They were at their usual spot in the park, with Ray revealing what had happened to her mother…before bursting into tears once again.

"Umm…well…" Zarc said, not knowing what the hell to do. Normally it was Ray who helped him through depressive spells, not the other way around.

"I mean…I…well…." He stammered. He really didn't know what to do.

"M-maybe Astrograph can help?" Zarc asked.

"How?" Ray asked, eyes red.

"Um…well…" Zarc stammered, pulling Astrograph's card out of his deck, causing the space-time magician to appear in his spirit form above the children. While neither Zarc or Ray could make out his full expression, his eyes were solemn.

"My condolences to your loss, Ray." He said simply. "But if you want me to help via borrowing my powers, I am afraid that I cannot do much."

"I don't really need that kind of help Astrograph." Zarc said.

"I am aware." Astrograph sighed heavily. "The loss of a loved one…it is…a rather shocking event."

"Gee, thanks Captain Obvious." Ray said bitterly.

"I…I've never had parents…." Zarc said shakily, trying to figure out just what he wanted to say to his friend. "B-but…maybe…it…"

"Maybe?" Ray asked, a dangerous growl appearing in her voice.

"U-um…" Zarc stammered. Yeah. He was REALLY bad at comforting people. Astrograph just kept on looking silently. He knew what he was going to say next was stupid, really stupid…but he could not help himself from blurting out the words.

"I mean…since I've never had parents…I've never known what it's like to lose one…maybe…maybe it isn't all bad?"

A grain of wisdom about children…they do not always know how to express themselves, and can stumble and trip over their own words and thoughts. Were Zarc older and more confident, he might've been able to word his sentence in a way that would allow him to emphasize with Ray. But unfortunately, Zarc met none of these criteria.

"Isn't all bad? ISN'T ALL BAD?!" Ray roared in anguish. "OF COURSE, IT'S BAD! My mommy's dead now and nothing can bring her back! She's dead! Dead, dead, dead! But of course, you wouldn't know. It's like you said, you've never had parents!"

"W-wait, Ray, I, I never!" Zarc tried.

"FORGET IT!" Ray cried, running away.

"Ray!" Zarc called out, only for the calming hand of Astrograph Sorcerer to touch his shoulder.

"Let her be Zarc…she is undergoing a great amount of pain right now." He said.

"I…I just wanted to help." Zarc said, tears coming to his eyes. What if Ray started to hate him after this screw-up? "I...I just…"

"Ray needs time to heal. This ordeal is not something that can be solved in the span of a day. Give her time to recover. She's angry, hurt, and distraught." Astrograph soothed to his charge. "After she winds down, try to help her then."

Zarc looked up at his Duel Spirit, and managed a small smile. Ray was right that he'd never known parents…but sometimes he felt that Astrograph was the closest thing to one. That being said, Zarc still wanted to do something to help Ray, anything that could help. But what else did Zarc know except dueling? He wasn't that great a student during the orphanage's classes, and he didn't have many friends at the Aleksey Home. Either you were just there, or you hated the other child's guts.

Wait…dueling.

Zarc looked at his deck, seeing Odd-Eyes' card on the bottom, and then looked back up at Astrograph Sorcerer. An idea began to form in his head, one that he really wanted to let out.

"Astrograph…do you think I could help Ray by dueling?"

Astrograph rose an eyebrow. "Right now? Or…"

"No, I mean, after you said to give her some time. What if the next time I duel…I try to help her with that! You know, try to make her happy with dueling! Maybe…maybe I could do that!" Zarc replied, a fire now beginning to burn in his soul as he became consumed with passion at his idea. "I could try to make Ray smile again by dueling other people! What do you think?"

Astrograph looked at Zarc, and was surprised by the light in his owner's eyes. He had never seen Zarc look this determined before. While Zarc's idea was admittedly a tad naïve, the fact that he'd actually come up with such an idea of his own initiative impressed Astrograph. Perhaps, with the right training, that childish thought could mature into a fine ideal.

"...That's…actually a rather impressive idea Zarc." Astrograph complimented.

Zarc's eyes shone with glee, and he jumped off the branch to run back to the orphanage.

Astrograph was surprised that Zarc was excited to leave. "Where are you going?"

"Back to the orphanage! I need to get some practice!" Zarc replied.

"…If you would like me to help guide you along, I will be happy to do so." Astrograph said, a surge of pride swelling up towards his master.

"Thanks Astrograph! What do you think Odd-Eyes?"

Odd-Eyes roared in the affirmative. Zarc smiled. Yeah, he'd do it. He'd become the best duelist there was. He'd make Ray happy again…and that thought alone brought a determination Zarc never thought he'd feel.

He'd do it. He'd really do it. Dueling to make people smile. He would make it a reality for sure.

* * *

 _September 28, 2044_

Ray wandered about the park, wondering if Zarc was there. She hadn't talked to him for two weeks…and was honestly feeling horrible about it. She wanted to apologize for her outburst, which was made rather difficult by her father forbidding her to go out after school. It had taken a great deal of begging just for them to be allowed to go outside, and even now, it was hard for her to make progress without her father telling her to not wander off too far, despite their familiarity with the park.

Ray quickly glanced at her father. He had become very jittery in these past weeks, keeping his eyes peeled, almost like he was looking for the monsters that took mommy away. It made Ray feel rather worried. She didn't want them coming after her daddy too and, and…

She shoved that thought out of her head and continued looking for Zarc, if he was still there. She heard a commotion a few feet away and saw that a crowd of children had gathered and ran towards them.

"Ray, wait!" her father called out, trying to keep his daughter within arm's reach.

Ray began pushing her way to the crowd's inner edge, ignoring the protests of the other children, until she came near the center and saw…

"And now, for my next trick, I will have Odd-Eyes attack Axe Raider!"

A duel was going on, with Zarc dueling his current opponent. But it was different from his previous duels. For one thing, the field was covered in lights, with numerous colors, though these played a supporting role to the blue-and-silver that seemed to cover the field. It was much flashier than before, that was certain. Even Odd-Eyes' attack on the axe-wielding warrior had more flare than normal, with the monster turning to a colorful firework display as it was destroyed.

Ray looked at Zarc, who was immersed in the duel. He seemed to be playing up the spectacle for the crowds, gesturing to them like a stage magician. When his opponent recovered from Odd-Eyes' attack and retaliated with Cosmo Queen, Zarc used the opportunity to summon Astrograph Sorcerer, who resurrected the dragon in a spectacular fashion, making it seem all the more dramatic by shining spotlights and creating the images of falling stars as Zarc's field was restored.

"What's Zarc doing?" Ray mumbled to herself.

A hand then tugged at her. "Hey Ray!"

Ray turned and saw Aiyo and Maho had been standing right next to her. The two seemed happy that Ray had left her house for once.

"Aiyo, what's going on?" Ray asked.

"I don't know, but this guy's dueling is really sparkly! I like it!" Aiyo gushed.

"Not dark enough…" Maho muttered. "It needs more black."

"It does not!" Aiyo argued, cheeks puffed up.

Maho merely breathed heavily out her nose, not bothering to reply.

"My turn!" Zarc announced with a flourish. "Ladies and Gentleman, I can now declare that this will be our final turn! I activate United We Stand! Now Odd-Eyes gains enough ATK to take down Cosmo Queen, with the help of Astrograph Sorcerer!"

Odd-Eyes roared as Astrograph Sorcerer hovered above Odd-Eyes, letting down a ray of blue light that empowered the dragon.

 **Odd Eyes Dragon/ATK: 4100**

"Alright, Odd-Eyes, let's close out the show! Attack Cosmo Queen!" Zarc ordered. "Spiral Flame!"

Odd-Eyes lept into the air, and let loose a flare of black-and-red fire at the purple-skinned Star sorceress, causing her to dissolve into a flurry of shining purple dust.

"And don't forget, Odd-Eyes gives you damage equal to Cosmo Queen's ATK! Reaction Force!"

"Oh, come on!" Zarc's opponent whined as he fell to the ground in defeat.

"That was amazing!" one child cheered

"It was so sparkly!" another one cried out.

"More! More! More!" a third demanded.

"Zarc!" Ray cried, running up to the silver-haired boy.

"R-ray?!" Zarc stammered as Ray came up to him.

Aiyo and Maho were surprised, then it clicked. "Wait, THIS is the kid from the Aleksey Home you've told us about?"

"Yeah!" Ray replied.

"U-um…hello." Zarc said nervously to the two girls. He then looked at Ray…and then looked down at the ground, since it made him feel less nervous…especially since he still remembered their last meeting.

An awkward silence filled the park, causing the crowd of children to disperse. Soon, only Zarc, Ray, Aiyo, Maho, and a dark-skinned boy who was hanging out further away were left on the field.

"I'm…sorry about before." Ray apologized, "I, I didn't mean what I said. I'm sorry Zarc."

"I'm sorry too." Zarc sighed. "I…really didn't know what to do back there."

"…Friends?" Ray asked.

"Friends." Zarc replied.

Aiyo nodded her head. Suffice to say, Zarc hadn't been the only recipient of a trauma-induced temper tantrum and ergo, it hadn't been the only time Ray had apologized for her behavior. Maho remained solemnly quiet, mouth hidden under her sweater which some considered too large for her small size.

"So…am I next?" the dark-skinned boy asked, having walked up to the group.

"What do you want Shogeki?" Maho asked.

Shogeki pantomimed shock, "I'm going to duel this guy, duh! I like the way he plays! He's better than Moetsu!"

"Oh, uh…sure!" Zarc replied, readying his duel disk for another game.

By the time Leo had caught up with his daughter, the children were already engrossed in their game once again. The widower watched as his daughter's face seemed to lighten up for the first time in weeks, and saw the silver-haired boy she had talked about dueling Shogeki with a large amount of circus-like flair.

Leo remained quiet as his daughter and her friends 'oooh' and 'ahhhed', but kept a close eye on all four of them. It wouldn't hurt to stay on his toes.

* * *

 _November 3, 2051_

" _Please evacuate to the earthquake shelter immediately, repeat, evacuate immediately"_

"What the hell is all of this?!" Shogeki griped as duelists ran out of the stadium in a panic.

Just a few seconds before, a massive rumbling began as the ground began to shake. Laputa Modules began to waver in their levitation, some coming dangerously close to crashing into others. Hovercars, regular cards, D-Wheels and regular motorcycles fell onto their sides as the earthquake's tremors intensified.

At the Dueling Stadium, Zarc, Ray, Shogeki, Aiyo, and Maho were caught in the panicking crowd as they raced towards the exits. The stadium itself was earthquake-proof, but that would be a moot point if the ground they were on collided with another section of levitating land and broke apart, sending them down into the abyss below.

The five tried to stay together, but it was no good. While Japan is hit with earthquakes daily, these are minor cases that residents have become used to. _This_ particular earthquake was much stronger, and indeed, would register a 7.2 on the Richter Scale in Crescent City…for a brief amount of time. The shaking lasted for about only 30 seconds, but it was enough to send people into a frenzied panic. News reports later down the line would speak of minor damage caused throughout all of Japan due to the tremors and minor tsunamis…but Crescent City would remember the event more of the hysteria it produced due to the catastrophe that nearly resulted.

Zarc and Ray were separated from Shogeki, and then from Aiyo and Maho as people rushed to what they perceived as safety.

"Damn it!" Zarc cursed. "Don't let go Ray!"

Ray nodded quickly, grabbing hold of Zarc's arm and clinging onto it…much to the silver-haired teen's brief panic before he remembered that they were dealing with a damn stampede of people and tremors. For a few seconds, Zarc and Ray clung together as people piled near the doors…only for Ray to see what was about to happen and pull Zarc away. A human crush was about to form as people crowded near the exits in their hysteria…despite the fact that by this time, the shaking had ended.

"This way, Zarc!" Ray called, dragging him with her back towards the arena.

"Agh! G-got it!" Zarc replied as he kept near Ray, eyes peeled for Shogeki, Aiyo, and Maho.

It was hard work trying to move against the crowd of people instead of with them at first, but as the crowd density piled near the doorways and out of the seating area, it became easier to move about until Zarc and Ray returned to the seating area, which, while not completely abandoned, wasn't as congested with people. The two finally reached an open space…and didn't watch where they were going and slipped onto the ground.

BAM!

"Ugh…" Zarc moaned, head resting on something relatively soft and squishy…

Wait…soft…and…squishy…

Ray noticed the weight that had fallen on top of her…and realized that Zarc, who was slightly shorter than she was, had fallen on top of her when they had tripped…and in…well…Ray had to hold back a blush as she realized where precisely Zarc's head was.

"GAH!" Zarc yelped, recovering quickly as he got up. "I'm sorry! Sorry! Sorry!"

Ray grimaced in annoyance…but got up smoothly with a huff. She couldn't hide the redness on her face…but of course, neither could Zarc as the two became quiet in a sudden lull that had overtaken the stadium.

"Just…don't tell my dad about this." Ray commanded, causing Zarc to nod quickly in compliance.

Despite their little fall, Ray's judgment had been right on the money. When the two got to a better vantage point, they gasped at the grisly sight before them; almost a hundred people had rushed towards one of the corridors at once…creating a bottleneck that had caused them to trample one another and create a pile of bodies that blocked the entrance into the arena.

Ray put a hand to her mouth in horror. "Oh god"

Zarc was silent, but his eyes kept scanning the disaster for signs of Shogeki, Maho, and Aiyo.

It would be a few hours before everything was cleared up. The duel stadium's evacuation policies would later be altered so as to ensure that another accident would not happen again, and the corridors were widened. The casualties stood at 7 dead, and 34 injured. Thankfully for Zarc and Ray, their friends had managed to avoid the human crush and exited via other corridors.

Of course, the rather disturbing event would still occasionally be in their minds…

* * *

 _April 6, 2054_

Zarc and Ray traveled along the city roads on their D-Wheels, white riding alongside pink, heading towards the café that Ray had in mind. Despite the fact that he was finally having a date with the girl of his dreams, Zarc had a sinking feeling about the place Ray wanted to go.

'Please don't be the vegan place, please don't be the vegan place, please don't be the vegan place'

Ray was the only member of the group who actually liked eating there. Shogeki found the food disgusting, Maho refused to even enter the restaurant ( _It's full of pretentious SJWs and Hippies!_ She would say), Aiyo politely ate the food…before rushing over to a nearby Burger World to wash the taste out. As for Zarc…his strategy to survive was to douse the food with as much soy sauce as possible. It wasn't that vegan food was bad or evil…it was just that Ray's strange sense of taste made it so that she actually found the cooking of the obnoxious/incompetent head chef there good.

Zarc recognized the streets he and Ray were traveling on…and he prayed to whatever gods existed that Ray had chosen the coffee shop a few buildings down from what Maho called "Green Hell".

"So…where are we going?" he asked.

"We're almost there!" Ray chirped.

Zarc gulped, awaiting the horrors of Quinoa…and then found that the Egyptian Gods had been merciful and Ray had chosen _Jerry's Café_ and not _Sylvan Mountain_. He breathed a sigh of relief as he and Ray parked their D-Wheels and entered the coffee shop…to discover that the place was packed.

"Great…a line." Ray muttered darkly. "Maybe we should've gotten a gluten-free muffin from Sylvan after all."

Zarc's eyes widened in horror. "No, no!" he said, waving his arms in panic. "I think it would be okay for us to wait!"

Ray rolled her eyes and kept on grumbling as the line moved slowly. "Hmph."

Zarc breathed a sigh of relief as the line moved relatively quickly, ensuring that Ray's grumbling quickly faded away. The two placed their orders and moved to take a seat…only to bump into the person who was behind them in the line.

"Watch where you're going!" the man growled, violently shoving Zarc and Ray away.

Both Zarc and Ray maintained their balance, and looked at the man who was glaring at them. He was around their age, being perhaps about one or two years older, and had smooth pitch-black hair with yellow-green hexagon patterns on his forward bangs and the very back, sickly yellow eyes and pale skin. The man wore a plain-brown riding duel suit with green patterns that reminded Ray of eyes. Of course, that thought soon faded away as anger quickly took her over as well.

The man angrily shouted at the two. "I don't like having to deal with idiots who don't watch where they're going!"

Ray's left eyebrow ticked, much to Zarc's horror. He almost felt sorry for what was going to happen to the man. "Listen here bub!" Ray hissed. "most people don't try punching or shoving people who accidentally bump into them."

"Well, I guess you haven't met me then!" the man yelled, raising his fists, only for Zarc to hastily step between him and Ray.

"Look, I'm sorry we bumped into you! That doesn't mean we have to fight!" Zarc pleaded, not wanting to get kicked out of the coffee shop.

Zarc heard the roar of Odd-Eyes…but said roar seemed to be one of…recognition rather than an affirmative, as he was occasionally inclined to do. It was then followed by another screech, very much like Odd-Eyes…but different…and it was coming from the man who seemed liable to get into a fistfight with Ray.

"Wait…that sound…" Zarc mumbled, voice trailing off, eyes glazing over as if he was in a trance.

The man was preparing to shove Zarc out of the way and beat the crap out of Ray, only to hear the same roar. Before he could be dragged into a similar trance, he bit his tongue, drawing blood as the pain kept him from succumbing.

"Oi! Stop that right now or I'll kick all three of you out and call the cops!" the man at the cash register called.

"O-of course!" the black-haired man said hastily, bowing and quickly leaving the coffee shop. "Sorry for that ma'am! I've had a rather busy morning!" he called out to Ray, who was still fuming.

Blood trailing from his mouth, Kurose hopped on his D-Wheel, and sped out of the parking lot. Despite the fact that he had caused a scene, something no assassin should ever make…he couldn't help but feel glee.

"Yess….I felt it there. That was a dragon much like my pet…That man…heh, heh…I will make that power mine."

Kurose gave a low, maddening laugh, the scale-tattoos re-appearing on his face. He knew he'd have to repress those again, but he couldn't help it. It seemed that things were about get interesting. Yes…very interesting indeed.

* * *

 **And thus, another chapter is out of my hair, and we see more of the mysteries and tragedies here in the United World...who is responsible for it all? What will happen next? What were your thoughts on the chapter? Let me know via a review!**

 **-Epsilon Tarantula-**


	5. Reboot Notice

**Hello! I bet you were expecting a chapter right? ...Considering that, no, the title doesn't follow the theming then you know what's ACTUALLY going on...**

 **The story's getting a reboot.**

 **Yes, yes, I know, launch your rubbish at me. Rebooting it after only four chapters were up? Why? The answer is simple, I performed a cardinal sin while writing it: I didn't think the whole plot through. In the time since I last updated, I've been discussing plot points elsewhere, revising and redoing many concepts (And then the outline got corrupted. Yes, just like with Garage Kids), to the point where I feel it would better serve the narrative flow of the story if the opening chapters were rewritten.**

 **Granted, that's only a few changes from you've seen here, but hopefully it should flow in a manner that I feel is less awkward.**

 **Said reboot will also have a new title and format:** ** _Dimension Dowsing_** **, split into** ** _Past Swing, Present Swing,_** **and** ** _Future Arc_** **. This new format will see the first and second parts be published in alternative manners, i.e. the backstory that Part I was supposed to tell, and the ARC-V rewrite starting from Episode 95 onwards, until reaching Future Arc.**

 **You may groan at me going through these hoops, but it is something that I feel must be done. Thankfully, having not put up much, I doubt you'll see a large difference besides the opening parts having a more consistent narrative tone.**

 **So, stay tuned, for** ** _Dimension Dowsing - Past Swing_** **and** ** _Dimension Dowsing - Present Swing_** **. I hope to meet and surpass your expectations when they come out!**

 **-Epsilon Tarantula-**


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